4c^* 

r 


) 

THE 


LIFE-LINE  OF  THE  LONE  ONE; 


OB, 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


THE  WORLD'S  CHILD, 


BY    THE    AUTHOR. 


"  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise  ; 
Act  well  your  part ;  there  all  the  honor  lies." 


THIRD     EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED   BY  BELA  MARSH,    14  BROMFIELD   ST. 

NEW    YORK:     S.    T.    MUNSON. 

1861. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  t*«s  year  1857 

BY  WARREN     CHASE, 
In  tli?  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED     BY 
HOBART    AND     BOBBINS, 

BOSTON. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  BARBARA 


PEEPACE. 


THIS  little  volume  —  a  true  and  literal  history  of  the 
struggles  of  an  ardent  and  ambitious  mind  to  rise  from 
a  dishonorable  birth,  and  the  lowest  condition  of  pov- 
erty and  New  England  slavery  —  is  published  more  for 
a  guide  and  advice  to  those  who  live  in  the  humble 
walks  of  life,  and  for  a  rebuke  on  the  tyrannical  and 
malignant  spirit  of  arrogant  and  selfish  individuals  and 
societies,  who  ever  attempt  to  trample  upon  and  despise 
such  reformers  as  attempt  to  rise,  by  individual  effort, 
to  distinction  or  fame,  than  for  the  book  market,  or  for 
the  pecuniary  reward  it  may  bring  the  author.  The 
name  is  only  left  in  obscurity  to  those  who  are  unac- 
quainted with  the  subject  of  the  narrative  ;  and  to  such 
it  is  of  no  value.  The  subject  of  the  narrative  has 
passed  to  a  plane  of  reconciliation  and  harmony,  in 
which  he  feels  only  a  spirit  of  forgiveness  for  those 
whose  consciences  have  already  punished  them  for  their 
physical  abuse,  or  moral  and  religious  misrepresenta- 
tions, slanders,  and  falsehoods,  or  their  political  curses. 
In  every  relation  and  condition  of  life  he  is  now  beyond 
their  shafts,  and  hence  is  in  a  condition  to  forgive. 
As  the  persecuted  Jesus,  when  the  malignity  of  his 
enemies  had  done  its  worst,  and  he  was  about  to  triumph 
in  the  personal  demonstration  of  his  own  theory,  could 
afford  to  forgive  Peter  and  Judas,  and  say  of  those  who 
took  his  life,  " Father,  forgive  them:  for  they  know  not 


IV  PRFACE. 

what  they  do ;"  so  the  Lone  One  has  often  exclaimed  of 
those  who  attempted  to  crucify  his  reputation,  and 
destroy  his  efforts  to  make  others  happy,  "  They  are 
forgiven :  for  they  know  not  what  they  do." 

"Speak  gently  to  the  erring  one, 

For,  0  !  ye  may  not  know 
The  untold  weight  of  suffering 
That  bows  his  spirit  low. 

"  A  kind  and  gentle  word,  perchance, 

May  call  all  back  to  him,  — 
The  pleasant  dreams  of  early  youth, 
Ere  the  light  of  life  was  dim. 

"  Harsh  words  may  he  the  only  ones 

His  ear  hath  ever  heard  ; 
Then  like  an  angel's  loving  voice 
Will  sound  your  gentle  word. 

"  In  joyous  hours,  with  friends  around, 

Rich  with  the  love  they  give, 
You  hear  of  wicked  deeds,  and  say, 
He  is  not  fit  to  live. 

"  But  only  think,  if  yours  had  been, 

Like  his,  a  cheerless  life, 
Your  soul,  perchance,  might  then  have  been, 
Like  his,  as  full  of  strife. 

"  There  'a  seldom  found  a  heart  so  hard 

But  love  may  enter  in  ; 
And  love  hath  ever  magic  power 
To  chase  away  all  sin. 

"  Then  spare  not  gentle  words,  that  bring 

The  erring  unto  God, 
To  learn  that  life  is  beautiful, 
When  spent  in  doing  good." 


LIFE-LINE  OF  THE  LONE  ONE. 


CHAPTEK    I. 

FIRST  DECADE  OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

The  Unwelcome  Birth.  — The  Unhappy  Childhood.— The  Untimely  Deaths.  - 
The  Uncharitable  Bondage.  —  The  Unmerciful  Treatment. 

SECTION   I. 

THE   IMPERFECT   LINEAGE. 

NOT  long  after  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  made  their  homes  on  the 
rocky  and  bleak  coast  of  Massachusetts,  a  vessel  from  the  Euro- 
pean side  of  the  ocean  landed,  among  her  passengers,  from  the 
"  sea-girt  isle,"  three  brothers,  who  brought  to  this  country  the 
name  which  has  since  gained  many  a  niche  in  the  records  of  our 
country's  local  and  general  history,  and  which  may  now  be  seen 
permanently  or  temporarily  posted  in  many  business  villages  of  the 
nation,  but  which  I  shall  dispense  with,  as  too  common  for  my 
narrative.  The  history  of  these  three  brothers,  and  of  several 
generations  of  their  descendants,  is  robed  in  a  mantle  of  obscurity, 
and  cannot  now  be  easily  unwrapped  and  spread  before  their  de- 
scendants, even  by  those  who  seek  through  it  a  fortune  of  dollars. 
Most  that  is  well  known  is,  that  they  had  Abraham's  blessing,  to 
increase  and  multiply.  It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  there  are 
not  more  and  better  words  on  the  hard  old  granite  and  marble 
tomb-stones  of  New  England,  bearing  to  us  more  of  the  history  of 
the  each  one  each  bears  the  name  of.  But  our  Christian  style 
of  epitaphing  brings  us  little  knowledge,  except  the  name  of  the 
1* 


6  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

person  whose  body  lies  under  the  stone.  Had  the  sextons  placed 
over  the  graves  permanent  records  of  the  three  great  events  which 
constitute  the  important  part  of  many  lives,  —  birth,  marriage,  and 
death,  —  it  would  often  aid  the  searcher  after  lineage,  when  the 
human  posts  with  memory-marks  had  all  been  swept  away  by  the 
merciless  besom  of  time.  Our  generation  has  a  better  chance  of  leav- 
ing individual  records  on  the  blank  pages  in  the  grave-yard  of  Jewish 
history  furnished  us  by  the  Bible  societies ;  which  records  may  be 
of  more  value  to  coming  generations  than  the  printed  pages,  when 
the  march  of  science  has  carried  away  the  idolatry  and  superstition 
of  this  age,  and  the  centuries  have  removed  the  tall  steeples  and 
stingy  creeds  of  the  nineteenth  Christian  century. 

But  we  must  still  grope  among  the  tomb-records,  to  renew  the 
search  after  the  lineage  of  the  Lone  One.  We  find  the  records  of 
both  grave-yards  very  imperfect,  from  which  we  can  only  glean 
sufficient  to  make  out  the  following :  In  the  third,  fourth,  or  fifth 
generation  of  these  three  brothers,  among  the  descendants  of  the 
one  of  them  who  bore  the  singular  cognomen  of  Aquila,  was  a 
family  of  eight  children  —  four  sons  and  four  daughters.  The 
younger  of  the  four  sons  joined  a  small  group  of  hardy  pioneers, 
who  had  procured  a  title  to  a  piece  of  God's  earth  (from  some 
regular  descendant  of  the  original  owner,  as  is  supposed  by  the 
land  reformers,  who  assert  that  God  never  gave  any  "  fee  simple  " 
title-deeds,  but  only  heirships),  then  far  up  in  the  wild  regions  of 
New  Hampshire,  on  a  small  stream  now  called  Suncook.  Near 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  this  little  group  began  to  fell 
the  tall  old  pines  and  sorry-looking  hemlocks,  and  let  down  the 
sunlight  and  dews  upon  the  soil  and  rocks  (mostly  rocks)  of  this 
little  spot  of  their  heavenly  Father's  earth ;  or  rather  on  their  own 
spot,  for  they  had  bought  a  few  acres  of  surface  running  inward 
to  a  point  at  the  centre  of  the  globe,  but  not  outward,  for  the  at- 
mosphere and  sunlight  were  still  owned  by  the  Father,  and  free 
for  the  use  of  all  his  children.  They  arranged  the  trees  across 
the  rattling  Suncook,  and,  the  river  being  dammed  and  heaped 
up,  its  waters,  in  their  wrath,  plunged,  foaming  in  madness,  over 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  7 

the  obstacle,  such  as  no  red  man  had  ever  placed  in  their  way ; 
or,  forced  through  the  narrow  aperture,  for  many  years  turned  a 
clattering  old  mill-wheel,  to  make  boards  for  the  settlers;  or, 
twirling  the  circular  and  poised  rock,  cracked  the  corn  for  the 
lesser  grinders  of  the  bipeds.  Long  ago  the  mill  was  "  torn  away, 
and  a  factory  dark  and  high  looms  like  a  tower  "  beside  the  stream. 
How  changed  the  place  in  a  century !  And  what  is  a  century  in  the 
midst  of  eternal  time?  Not  even  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean.  The  red 
man  and  his  fur-clad  quadruped  companions  are  gone  [where  ?] ;  and 
civilized  man,  with  his  domesticated  animals  and  labor-saving 
machinery,  his  cottage  homes,  his  noisy  shops,  and  busy  stores,  has 
taken  their  place,  and  driven  them,  not  to,  but  beyond,  the  wall. 
Wonder  often  seized  the  red  man,  as  he  watched  his  white  Cain- 
like  brothers  fell  the  trees,  remove  the  rocks,  till  the  soil,  build 
warmer  wigwams,  and  plant  more  "  heap  of  corn ;  "  but  he  passed 
in  wonder  away,  stupefied  in  soul,  and  poisoned  in  body,  by  the 
rum  and  tobacco  of  God's  whiter  Christian  children.  Now  the 
spires  of  the  Puritan's  descendants  point  upward  in  place  of  the 
red  man's  forest  spires,  from  which,  two  centuries  ago,  the  prayers 
and  praises  of  man  and  beast  were  sounded  to  the  sky  in  simple 
strains  of  nature's  music,  as  acceptable  to  God  as  the  best  harmo- 
nies of  our  time.  Now  the  slender  fingers  of  the  factory-girl  guide 
the  cotton  thread,  through  whirling  machinery,  into  webs  of  sheet- 
ing, to  wrap  the  more  tender  forms  of  the  white  mother's  babes  of 
a  Christian  land ;  but  it  is  not  certain  that  these  babes  or  mothers 
live  purer  lives,  or  give  more  pure  devotion  to  God,  than  did  the 
fur-clad  mothers  and  naked  babes  of  the  forest-homes ;  and  certain 
it  is  that  the  belief  in  a  future  life  entertained  by  the  red  man  of 
the  forest  was  far  more  natural,  more  rational,  more  honorable  to 
God,  and  more  desirable  to  man,  than  that  of  the  Christian  which 
has  supplanted  it. 

Soon  after  a  shanty  was  prepared  by  this  descendant  of  Aquila 
wide  enough  for  two,  the  loved  one,  selected  from  the  daughters  of 
a  neighboring  settlement,  came  to  share  its  hardships  with  the 
occupant.  Not  a  score  of  moons  had  been  reported,  nevr  or  old, 


8  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

ere  the  pair  had  to  make  room  for  a  third,  a  darling  boy,  whose 
origin  was  between  them ;  the  first  white  face  of  male  child  born  in 
the  settlement,  and  of  course  it  would  have  a  place  and  name. 
Simon  (not  Simon  Peter)  was  the  cognomen  by  which  this  shanty 
boy  was  designated  from  his  fellows.  When  peopling  the  settle- 
ment by  births  was  fairly  begun,  it  was  not  carried  on  slowly  in 
the  several  homes,  but  especially  in  this  one.  The  family  record 
was  soon  filled  up ;  for  Simon's  name  was  followed  by  eleven 
more,  marking,  as  milestones,  the  line  of  domestic  life,  nearly  in 
biennial  periods.  Seven  received  female  names,  rights,  and  duties, 
and  five  male  names,  rights,  and  duties.  The  eldest,  born  when 
the  trials  and  hardships  of  life  were  most  severe,  was  of  course  the 
brightest  and  smartest,  although  the  parents  were  less  developed 
and  matured  than  at  the  birth  of  Joseph  (for  they  had  a  Joseph). 
Two  of  the  dozen  went  early  and  young  to  reside  on  the  other  side 
of  Jordan,  "  to  join  a  choir  of  juvenile  singers  in  the  land  of 
spirits."  Four  more  have  since  followed  them,  at  various  times, 
and  six  were  still  lingering  here  in  the  autumn  of  1855,  time- 
worn  humanity-marks  of  the  last  century,  and  of  the  gene- 
ration which  has  been  mainly  transplanted  into  the  other  life. 
The  old  pioneer  parents,  too,  whose  hold  on  life  enabled  them  to  stay 
almost  a  century  on  earth,  and  live  more  than  half  a  century  in 
wedded  life,  have  joined  those,  who,  according  to  the  new  theory 
of  spirit-spheres,  are  living  in  families  and  societies  of  harmonious 
and  congenial  life  in  the  land  of  the  dead.  'T  is  a  beautiful  thought, 
whether  true  or  not,  for  the  lone  pilgrim  here,  that,  at  the  end  of 
life's  journey,  he  or  she  shall  lay  the  "  staff  and  sandals  down  " 
for  the  wreath  and  robe  of  a  brighter  and  happier  home,  and  join 
there,  in  happy  life,  the  "  loved  ones  gone  before." 

We  have  now  done  nearly  all  we  can  to  register  the  genealogy 
of  the  Lone  One,  and  will  here  leave  the  ancestors,  all  except  the 
first-born  of  the  sons  of  the  new  settlement.  Of  him  we  have  more 
to  say,  for,  in  matured  life,  he  became  the  father  of  the  Lone  One 
by  a  mother  fully  ripened  into  womanhood  ;  the  last  child  of  each, 
and  the  only  child  of  the  twain.  This  Simon-son,  of  the  Pittsfield 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  9 

town,  has  now  no  tomb-stone  monument  to  mark  where  his  body  lies, 
and  no  epitaph  inscribed  to  record  his  religious  belief,  or  pious 
character ;  but  only  the  memory-marks  made,  during  his  life,  on 
those  around  him  which  have  not  faded.  His  parents,  and  brothers, 
and  sisters,  all  accorded  to  him  the  qualification  of  good  and 
smart ;  but  his  early  life  had  not  the  advantage  of  schools,  and 
books,  and  sermons,  and  lectures,  as  the  youth  of  our  time  have. 
Hard  work  by  day-light,  and  rude  plays  by  fire-light,  occupied  his 
youth,  and  the  former  did  not  cease  when  manhood  came.  Those 
still  living  who  knew  him  say  he  was  physically  and  mentally  more 
than  a  common  man,  and  morally  not  less,  but  religiously  at  zero. 
Many  of  his  trite  sayings,  and  soma  of  his  doings,  still  linger 
around  the  memories  of  those  who  knew  him  half  a  century  ago. 

Such  were  the  father  and  the  paternal  lineage  of  the  Lone  One, 
which,  with  one  more  brief  notice  in  its  proper  place,  must  be  left 
to  the  fast-fading  shadows  of  memory ;  for  lineal  descents  are 
difficult  to  trace,  and  not  very  reliable  when  written.  When  forty 
years  had  worn  away  upon  the  records,  these  were  nearly  all  the 
links  the  Lone  One  could  find  in  the  chain  to  connect  him,  through 
his  sire,  with  the  Puritan  Fathers.  The  great  fortune  said  to  be 
waiting  some  heir  in  name  and  line  had  never  arrested  his  atten- 
tion, for  he  was  not  registered  in  the  records  of  lineal  descent,  but 
dwelt  alone,  and  away  from  all  kindred  of  name  and  descent  from 
Aquila.  It  is  doubtful  whether,  if  he  had  died  before  this  record 
was  published,  or  before  the  days  of  modern  spiritualism,  he  could 
have  received  a  Christian  burial,  with  head  to  the  west,  to  meet  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  bodies,  the  Saviour,  who  is  to  come  from 
the  east,  when  the  trump  of  the  angel  shall  call  up  the  dead  and 
decayed  forms  from  the  earth.  But  he  has  already  outlived  most 
of  the  follies,  superstitions,  and  prejudices,  of  the  Christians,  and 
expects  at  death  to  find  a  home  with  the  spirits,  if  not  with  the 
Christians,  of  the  other  world,  and  not  so  cold  and  unwelcome 
a  reception  as  he  found  in  this  world. 


10  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

SECTION   II. 

THE   MOTHER   AND    CHILD. 

"  SL'ently,  strangely,  the  darkness 

Has  fallen  upon  thy  way, 
And  the  hands  of  no  earthly  morning 
For  thee  shall  open  the  day. 

"  And  yet  in  a  world  of  sunshine 

Thou  seemest  to  dwell  the  while  ; 
For  the  light  of  thy  soul  looks  on  us 
In  the  light  of  thy  beautiful  smile- 

"  And  much  for  that  one  affliction 
Shall  this  recompense  atone  — 
On  the  path  of  thine  earthly  journey 
Thou  shalt  not  walk  alone. 

"  For  when  human  love  shall  leave  thee, 

Thy  wanderings  almost  done, 
Then  the  hands  of  invisible  angels 
Shall  softly  lead  thee  on. 

"  And  their  arms  shall  be  round  about  thee, 
Till  thy  feet  through  that  gate  have  trod 
Standing  dark  at  the  end  of  the  pathway 
Which  leads  from  the  world  to  God. 

"  And  then  what  an  over-payment 

For  the  night  of  thy  mortal  ills, 
Shall  come  with  the  light  of  that  morning 
That  breaks  o'er  eternity's  hills  !  " 

ON  the  fifth  day  of  the  first  month  of  the  eighteen  hundred 
and  thirteen,  at  the  opening  of  the  morning  light  upon  the  snow-clad 
hills  and  vales  of  New  England,  a  poor,  lonely,  and  sorry  mother, 
with  a  newly-born  and  unwelcome  babe,  might  have  been  seen  in 
an  old,  shattered,  and  oft-deserted  house,  through  which  the  winter 
winds  and  New  England  snow-storms  played  almost  unobstructed ; 
a  house  long  since  gone  to  "  dust  and  ashes,"  leaving  only  the 
hole  in  the  ground  to  mark  the  spot  where  its  frame  once  protect- 


LITE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  11 

ed,  as  well  as  society  then  did,  the  entrance  of  the  Lone  One  on 
his  earthly  pilgrimage.  Few  marks  of  a  modern  New  England 
home  were  to  be  seen  there,  except  the  bright  eye  of  the  sorry 
mother,  and  the  quiet  face  of  the  babe,  sleeping  in  innocence  and 
ignorance  both  of  its  "  totally  depraved  nature  "  and  totally  de- 
prived condition  (especially  of  the  comforts  of  life).  The  moth- 
er's eye  grew  dim  and  weak  as  it  dropped  its  tears  fresh-wrung 
from  the  heart,  while  she  pondered  on  the  fate  of  herself  and 
child.  What  would  become  of  them  she  knew  not.  Her  hands, 
go  used  to  toil  for  her  support,  were  now  confined  to  a  new  task, 
to  which  maternal  love  alone  called  her,  and  which  returned  a 
reward  only  in  the  satisfaction  to  her  heart,  but  which  would 
neither  feed  nor  clothe  herself  and  babe.  A  few  —  only  a  few  — 
persons  were  willing  to  be  known  as  the  friends  of  this  poor  mother 
and  babe ;  but  probably  as  many  as  were  willing  to  be  seen  and 
known  to  be  friends  of  the  mother  and  child  in  a  stable  in  Beth- 
lehem, once  on  a  time.  The  few  did  call  to  see  the  mother  and 
child,  but  they  were  mostly  from  that  class  of  persons  whose 
entire  wealth  is  in  charity,  sympathy,  and  love,  and  who,  however 
much  disposed,  were  unable  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  sufferers. 
Death  would  indeed  have  been  a  welcome  visitor  then  and  there, 
if  willing  to  take  both  to  his  home ;  and  far  more  welcome  to  the 
child,  could  he  have  seen  the  path  of  life  before  him.  Thus  dark 
and  gloomy,  and  sad,  hopeless,  and  loveless,  uncalled  for,  a  curse, 
not  a  blessing,  was  the  earthly  dawning  of  the  Lone  One's  life. 
Well  might  that  saddened  mother  say,  with  a  sweet  sister  of  song, 
on  a  bank  of  the  Ohio,* 

"  For  me,  in  all  life's  desert  sand, 

No  well  is  made,  no  tent  is  spread  ; 
No  father's  nor  a  brother's  hand 
Is  laid  with  blessing  on  my  head. 

"  The  radiance  of  my  mortal  star 

Is  crossed  with  signs  of  woe  to  me, 
And  all  my  thoughts  and  wishes  are 
Sad  wanderers  toward  eternity. 

*  Alice  Gary. 


12  LIFE-LINE   OP  THE  LONE   ONE. 

"  Stricken,  riven,  helplessly  apart 

From  all  that  blessed  the  path  I  trod, 
0,  tempt  me,  tempt  me  not,  my  heart, 
To  arraign  the  goodness  of  my  God  ! 

"  For  suffering  hath  been  made  sublime, 
And  souls  that  lived  and  died  alone 
Have  left  an  echo  for  all  time, 
As  they  went  wailing  to  the  throne. 

"  There  have  been  moments  when  I  dared 

Believe  life's  mystery  a  breath, 
And  deem  Faith's  beauteous  bosom  bared 
To  the  betraying  arms  of  Death. 

"  For  the  immortal  life  but  mocks 

The  soul  that  feels  its  ruin  dire, 
And  like  a  tortured  demon  rocks 
Upon  the  cradling  waves  of  fire. 

"  To  mine  is  pressed  no  loving  lip, 

Around  me  twines  no  helping  arm ; 
And,  like  a  frail  dismasted  ship, 
I  blindly  drift  before  the  storm." 

This  was  the  mother  and  child.  Nobody  owned  the  mother, 
for  no  priest  had  bade  her  obey  and  serve  any  man ;  and  hence 
no  one  man  was  bound  to  feed  and  clothe  her.  She  owned  herselt 
and  child ;  and  we  never  heard  that  she  attributed  its  origin  to  a 
spirit,  or  to  spirits,  or  spiritual  influence  of  any  kind,  although  she 
was  a  Christian  woman.  Whether  she  repented  the  hasty  and 
imprudent  bestowal  of  her  love  on  that  Simon-son  of  Nathaniel, 
from  an  overflowing  heart,  we  cannot  say ;  but  that  she  deeply 
deplored  her  sad  fate  is  but  too  well  known,  however  much  she 
may  now  rejoice  over  its  results.  Few  had  pity  for  her.  Some 
had  scorn ;  more  had  contempt ;  but  the  angels  smiled  on  her ; 
and  when  the  heart  of  man  cast  her  out,  the  heart  of  God  took 
her  in.  But  Simon,  0,  Simon !  where  art  thou  ?  What  screen 
can  hide  thee  from  her  suffering  ? 

When  the  nation's  second  war  with  England  sent  its  notes  echo- 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  13 

ing  among  the  granite  hills  of  New  Hampshire,  it  called  to  the 
field  and  the  ocean  many  brave  hearts  from  among  her  hardy  sons. 
Among  them  was  Simon,  the  son  of  Nathaniel,  who  speedily  re- 
leased himself  from  home  and  relatives,  and  sought  associates  in 
the  camp,  with  the  frontier  army,  on  the  Canada  side  of  New 
England.  His  restless  soul  and  troubled  mind  sought  and  found 
food  and  interest  in  the  army  for 'a  brief  period,  until  the  terrible 
battle  of  Plattsburgh,  after  which  the  army  record  contained, 
among  the  names  of  the  wounded  and  died,  this  same  Simon, 
thus  shortening  the  journey  of  life,  and  abruptly  terminating  the 
path  to  fame  and  glory,  by  a  precipice  and  a  plunge  in  oblivion's 
stream.  Here  ends  all  the  Lone  One  could  glean  in  1855  of  a 
father's  history.  In  his  ripened  years,  he  was  never  much  inclined 
to  search  among  the  tombs  for  relics,  while  living  subjects  of 
more  interest  were  ever  around  him.  At  this  infancy  period  of 
life,  which  we  have  now  introduced,  dark  clouds  with  heavy  storms 
hung  lowering  over  his  horizon  ;  and  this  burst  and  crash  in  a 
father's  death  was  distant  and  faint,  compared  with  many  others 
that  follow ;  but  fate  would  have  its  fixed  course.  In  riper  years, 
he  often  wondered  why  God  (if  there  were  a  God)  had  sent  him 
here  without  consulting  his  choice  to  come  and  be  thus  born,  and 
also  whether  he  could  be  accountable  for  involuntary  life  and 
actions  resulting  therefrom ;  but  none  could  answer  or  tell  why 
God  had  done  thus,  by  special  or  by  general  laws.  Some  power 
had  certainly,  without  consulting  the  will  of  either,  sent  the  child 
into  earthly  consciousness  and  the  father  out.  The  eager,  ardent, 
restless  spirit  of  the  father  (but  not  a  spirit  of  wrangling)  had 
been  transmitted  to  the  child,  to  mark  him,  in  the  babe,  the  boy, 
and  the  man,  through  life.  Here  our  history  leaves  the  father  for 
the  more  minute  detail  of  life  and  character  by  the  numerous 
relatives,  while  we  follow  the  Life-Line  of  the  mother  and  boy. 
The  babe  would  not  die,  although  many  wished  it  would,  to  relieve 
the  mother  from  a  burthen,  and  them  from  deeds  of  charity  they 
felt  so  unable  to  perform.  It  lived  and  grew,  and  the  mother 
2 


14  LIFE-LINE    OF   THd   LONE    ONE. 

loved  it,  perhaps  the  more,  for  the  hard  fate  which  had  befallen 
her.  She  sometimes  thought,  perhaps, 

"  Heaven  her  nuptials  did  record, 
Though  man  did  deem  her  love  abhorred  ;  " 

and  that  her  babe  might  yet  live  to  bless  and  love  her  and  others, 
and  be  useful  in  life,  if  she  could  only  raise  him  to  manhood. 
But  joyless  poverty  iu  a  hard  country !  —  0,  who  can  describe  its 
trials !  —  its  withering  blasts,  its  pinching  wants,  its  trampled 
and  despised  condition?  Then  add  to  it  the  disgrace  of  being  a 
mother  without  the  sacred  mantle  of  legal  marriage,  and  you  can 
scarcely  imagine  the  depths  of  a  mother's  woe  forty  years  ago. 
Marriage  might,  indeed,  have  screened  the  mother  from  public 
scorn  ;  but  how  much  guilt,  and  of  what  nature,  attached  to  the 
child,  society  did  never  define.  But  it  long  despised  him.  When 
the  rude  cold  winds  reached  their  icy  fingers  for  the  heart-strings 
of  her  babe,  and  the  rattling  boards,  nor  tattered  garments,  could 
save  him,  then  the  mother  folded  him  to  her  bosom,  and  fed  and 
warmed  from  her  scantily-supplied  body,  and  bade  the  cold  and 
hunger  take  her  with  her  babe,  or  leave  both  together.  She  was 
a  mother  worthy  a  better  fate,  who  might  have  filled,  with  honor 
and  love,  a  stately  mansion,  had  fortune  favored  her  with  one, 
instead  of  a  hovel.  It  was,  indeed,  a  hard  task  to  supply  by  her 
labor  the  wants  of  both,  for  few  would  hire  her  with  her  boy. 
Susan  did  not  name  her  boy  for  either  family,  nor  borrow  a  name 
from  either  record  of  ancestors,  but  selected  a  name  left  on  the 
scroll  of  fame  by  one  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill, 
where  the  tall  monument  marks  the  spot  of  conflict  and  death  ; 
and  that  name  he  is  still  known  by,  as  much  as  by  the  sire-name. 
But  a  name  of  one  beloved  by  thousands  did  not  bring  even  frienda 
to  the  Lone  One,  for  now  the 

" years  pressed  hard  upon  him, 

And  his  living  friends  were  few  ; 
And  from  out  the  sombre  future 
Troubles  drifted  into  view." 


LIFE-LINE    OF    THE    LONE    ONE.  15 

Never  yet  did  a  child  start  on  the  pathway  to  fame,  even  in 
New  England,  with  harder  prospects,  and  through  a  darker  and 
colder  social  atmosphere,  than  this  unblessed  babe ;  and  yet  his 
eyes  sparkled  with  gladness,  and  his  heart  leaped  with  joy,  at 
each  kind  look,  loving  smile,  or  gentle  word,  of  mother  or  friend. 
He  had  not  yet  learned  that  the  world  around  him  was  full 
of  scorn,  contempt,  neglect,  and  slander,  for  his  sensitive  soul  to 
meet  and  overcome  with  its  own  love  and  devotion,  which  alone 
could  overcome  such  obstacles  to  happiness.  The  meagre  pittance 
which  Susan  could  obtain  for  unwearying  industry  enabled  her  to 
feed  and  clothe  herself  and  babe.  It  was  no  doubt  a  blessing  to 
her  to  have  the  screen  over  coming  events  sufficient  to  obscure  all 
vision  of  the  terrible  fate  that  awaited  her  and  her  boy ;  else  she 
would  have  earnestly  prayed  (for  she  did  pray)  that  the  cup  might 
pass  undrained  by  each  or  either.  How  oft,  in  riper  years,  have 
the  eye  and  smile  of  the  Lone  One  rested  on  a  mother  and  child 
in  a  home  of  poverty,  while  the  mind  has  turned  back  to  his  own 
mother  and  his  childhood,  and  wondered  if  here,  as  there,  love 
alone  constituted  the  wealth  of  mother  and  child  !  Tears  and 
sympathy  never  have,  and  never  can,  abandon  the  heart  once 
schooled  in  the  experience  of  the  Lone  One ;  nor  can  it  ever  fail 
to  appreciate,  reciprocate,  and  feel,  the  genial  love  of  kindred 
souls. 

Four  times  our  latitude  felt  the  freezing  winds  and  drifting 
snows  of  a  winter  solstice ;  cold  without,  and  cold  within ;  cold 
the  forms,  and  colder  the  hearts,  around  the  tender  germ  in  earthly 
mould,  born,  out  of  time  and  out  of  place,  of  a  mother,  but  not 
of  a  wife.  The  father  had  gone  to  Paradise,  with  Jesus  and  the 
thief;  but  the  child  was  not  taught  to  speak  of  his  father,  even 
the  Father  in  heaven  ;  and  although  he  saw  other  children  with 
fathers  to  accept  and  instruct  them,  yet  he  knew  not  that  he  had 
a  father,  living  or  dead,  till  many  years  after  the  transition  of 
Simon.  The  mother  enjoyed  tolerable  health ;  the  heart  only 
was  diseased ;  and  whose  heart  would  not  be,  in  such  a  world, 
and  under  such  trials,  —  a  widow  in  fact,  but  not  in  law  ?  The 


16  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

messenger  from  the  "  Kingdom  of  Ponemah  "  had  already  started 
after  her ;  and  the  car  of  death  was  moving  toward  earth,  to 
bear  her  to  the  "  Islands  of  the  Blessed ;  "  but  she  knew  it  not ; 
for  still  the  earthly  form  swayed  to  the  will  obedient,  still  "  the 
magic  car  moved  on."  Avon's  bard  has  truly  said,  "  Misfortunes 
never  come  single ; "  and  the  Song  of  Hiawatha  truly  sings,  in 
lines  of  Longfellow  measure, 

"  So  disasters  come  not  singly  ; 
But,  as  if  they  watched  and  waited, 
Scanning  one  another's  motions, 
When  the  first  descends,  the  others 
Follow,  follow,  gathering  flockwise 
Round  their  victim,  sick  and  wounded, 
First  a  shadow,  then  a  sorrow, 
Till  the  air  is  dark  with  anguish." 

But  there  is  no  hardest  fate,  no  deepest  woe  in  the  trial-lives 
of  wandering  souls.  Superlatives  are  meaningless.  Compara- 
tives alone  are  appropriate.  Every  hard  trial  has  a  harder,  every 
sad  time  a  sadder,  and  every  dark  day  a  darker  ;  so  of  the  bright, 
the  beautiful,  the  good,  and  the  happy,  with  a  superlative  only  in 
the  Perfect,  the  Infinite,  the  Omniscient.  The  child,  or  boy  (for 
at  this  age  he  was  both  or  either),  was  deposited  with  a  Quaker 
family  on  the  mountain,  while  the  mother  went  to  watch  by  the 
bedside  of  a  relative,  where  the  camp-fires  of  life  were  slowly 
expiring,  little  suspecting  the  angel  of  death  was  reaching  for  her 
to  go  first  to  the  "  Land  of  the  Hereafter,"  and  welcome  there  the 
dying  one,  and  leave  here  her  lonely  babe  to  buffet  the  storms 
alone.  She  retired  from  the  sick  bed  late  one  night,  and  lay  her 
wearied  body  on  its  couch  for  repose,  and  quietly  arose  into  the 
regions  of  eternal  dream ;  for,  ere  she  awoke  she  died,  —  died 
without  a  struggle,  apparently  without  the  motion  of  a  muscle, 
for  the  quiet  face  wore  still  its  genial  smile.  In  the  morning 
they  found  the  pule,  cold  form  at  rent;  but  the  spirit  had  been 
called,  and  obeyed  the  summons,  —  taken  passage  with  the  mes- 
senger  to  the  sphere  where  the  angels  bid  her  welcome  to  their 


LIFE-LINE    OF    THE    LONE    ONE.  17 

home.  But  she  could  not  stay  quietly  there,  for  her  boy  was 
lingering  and  struggling  in  the  wrangling  world  below ;  and  she 
asked  and  obtained  permission  to  return,  and  guard  him  for  a  few 
years,  to  aid  his  feeble  soul  in  its  trial-hours  and  combats  with 
a  world  of  scorn  and  contempt.  The  Infidel  laughed  at  the  idea 
of  her  being  a  spirit,  and  the  Christian  ridiculed  the  idea  of  a 
spirit  coming  to  earthly  friends ;  but  both  were  ignorant  arid  in 
error ;  for  she  was  a  spirit,  and  did  come  back  from  her  happy 
home,  to  fill  a  mission  to  earth  and  to  the  lonely  child.  The  phy- 
sician said  she  died  by  a  nightmare.  She  says  she  died  by  a  dis- 
ease of  the  heart.  No  matter;  she  was  dead  to  the  world  of 
touch  and  sight,  to  the  outer  sense  and  earthly  form,  and  only 
alive  to  herself  and  the  spiritual  senses  of  others ;  and  the  Lone 
One  now  inherited  his  name  and  organization,  and  nothing  more. 
No  wonder  the  neighbors  said  they  sometimes  saw  her  form,  pale 
and  shadowy,  sitting  on  the  bier  which  stood  long  over  her  grave, 
in  the  orchard  where  they  laid  her  body  to  rest  near  its  kindred ! 
No  wonder  the  timid  and  superstitious  said  they  heard  her  voice 
moaning  in  the  breeze,  as  it  whistled  through  the  orchard,  answer- 
ing to  the  wind,  which  "  sat  in  the  pines,  and  gave  groan  for 
groan ! "  No  wonder  the  whip-poor-will  flew  directly  from  the 
house  to  the  grave,  and  from  the  grave  to  the  house,  and  sang 
mournfully  his  sad  song  at  each  end  of  his  short  journey  !  No 
wonder  all  who  knew  her  asked  each  of  each,  "  What  will  become 
of  her  boy  ?  "  Few,  very  few,  in  that  day,  knew  that  our  parents 
dead  were  living  still,  our  spirit-guides.  Her  blessing  came  in  the 
lines  of  the  angel,  F.  S.  O.sgood  : 

LABOR. 

Pause  not  to  dream  of  the  future  before  us  ; 
Pause  not  to  weep  the  wild  cares  that  come  o'er  us  ; 
Hark,  how  Creation's  deep,  musical  chorus, 

Unintermitting,  goes  up  into  heaven  ! 
Never  the  ocean-wave  falters  in  flowing  ; 
Never  the  little  seed  stops  in  its  growing  ; 
More  and  more  richly  the  rose-heart  keeps  glowing, 

'Till  from  its  nourishing  stem  it  is  riven. 
2* 


18  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE. 

"  Labor  is  worship  !  "  the  robin  is  singing  ; 
"  Labor  is  worship  !  "  the  wild  bee  is  ringing  ; 
Listen  !  that  eloquent  whisper  upspringing 

Speaks  to  thy  soul  from  out  Nature's  great  heart ! 
From  the  dark  cloud  flows  the  life-giving  shower  ; 
From  the  rough  sod  blows  the  soft-breathing  flower  ; 
From  the  small  insect,  the  rich  coral  bower  ; 

Only  man,  in  the  plan,  shrinks  from  his  part. 

Labor  is  life  !     'T  is  the  still  water  faileth; 

Idleness  ever  despaireth,  bewaileth  ; 

Keep  the  watch  wound,  for  the  dark  rust  assaileth  ; 

Flowers  droop  and  die  in  the  stillness  of  noon. 
Labor  is  glory  !  —  the  flying  cloud  lightens  ; 
Only  the  waving  wing  changes  and  brightens  ; 
Idle  hearts  only  the  dark  future  frightens  ; 

Play  the  sweet  keys,  wouldst  thou  keep  them  in  tune  ' 

Labor  is  rest  from  the  sorrows  that  greet  us,  — 
Rest  from  all  petty  vexations  that  meet  us,  — 
Rest  from  sin-promptings  that  ever  entreat  us,  — 

Rest  from  world-sirens  that  lure  us  to  ill. 
Work,  and  pure  slumbers  shall  wait  on  thy  pillow  ; 
Work  —  thou  shalt  ride  over  Care's  coming  billow  ; 
Lie  not  down  wearied  'neath  Woe's  weeping  willow  ! 

Work  with  a  stout  heart  and  resolute  will ! 

Droop  not,  though  shame,  sin,  and  anguish,  are  round  thee  ; 
Bravely  fling  off  the  cold  chain  that  hath  bound  thee  ! 
Look  to  yon  pure  heaven  smiling  beyond  thee  ! 

Rest  not  content  in  thy  darkness,  a  clod  ! 
Work  for  some  good,  be  it  ever  so  slowly  ; 
Cherish  some  flower,  be  it  ever  so  lowly  ; 
Labor  !     All  labor  is  noble  and  holy  ! 

Let  thy  great  deeds  be  thy  prayer  to  thy  God  ! 

SECTION  III. 

SUFFERING. 

The  first  half  of  the  first  decade  in  earth-life  was  now  by  the 
Lone  One  counted  in  years.  Both  parents  (if  he  had  two)  were 
gone  up  out  of  their  bodies,  and  he  was  left  alone  in  his,  —  fath- 
erless, motherless,  penniless,  friendless,  worthless,  useless,  and 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  19 

deathless.  The  last,  and  indeed,  only,  warm  heart  that  beat  for 
him  was  cold  and  still.  The  last  and  only  face  that  smiled  for 
him  could  smile  no  more.  No  hand  to  sustain,  no  arm  to  sup- 
port, no  voice  in  kindness  to  direct,  could  he  expect  more,  for 
now  he  was  the  world's  child.  Its  cold  selfish  heart  beat  only  for 
gold  and  glory,  of  which  the  child  had  none.  The  tears  often 
stole  down  the  cheek  as  the  heart  uttered  its  grief,  while  in  child- 
like innocence  he  wildly  asked,  "Where  is  my  mother?" — "  Your 
mother  is  dead,"  came,  coldly,  stupidly,  back  the  answer.  — "  What 
have  they  done  with  her?"  —  "  Put  her  in  the  ground." — "Cruel, 
wicked  men  !  "  exclaimed  the  boy.  —  "  0,  no  ;  God  took  her 
away."  —  "  Did  God  kill  my  mother  ?  "  wildly  asked  the  child.  — 
"  Only  took  her  away." —  "  0,  cruel,  cruel  God  !  bring  me  back 
my  mother ;  for  the  world  has  no  friend  for  me  when  she  is  gone ! " 
But  they  laughed  at  the  child,  whose  innocent  and  ignorant  heart 
condemned  God  for  taking  away  his  mother,  whom  he  needed  so 
much  and  God  so  little ;  for  now  he  felt  himself  fully  to  be  the 
"  poor  outcast  of  creation,"  "  no  more  to  hear  a  kindly  word,  or 
grasp  a  kindly  hand." 

In  obedience  to  the  statute  of  New  Hampshire,  each  town  at 
its  annual  meeting  selects  three  men  who  are  overseers  of  the 
poor,  and  whose  duty  it  is  to  provide  homes  for  those  who  have 
none,  and  no  means  of  support.  Of  course  the  world's  child 
became  their  ward  at  the  death  of  his  mother.  In  the  town  was 
a  citizen  farmer,  whose  name  we  will  call  David,  not  because  he 
slew  Goliah,  or  Uriah,  but  because  he  was  known  by  that  name 
at  the  time.  He  was  a  trader  in  cattle,  and  sheep,  and  swine ; 
not  well  organized  for  a  happy  life,  and  badly  educated  in  social 
and  spiritual  affairs.  This  citizen  applied  to  the  authorities  for 
the  boy,  whom  he  had  attempted  in  vain  to  obtain  from  the 
mother,  for  he  saw  in  him  a  machine  capable  of  doing  much  hard 
work,  and  releasing  his  own  children  from  many  tasks.  He  readily 
obtained  the  boy,  and  the  bond  was  signed  which  sold  the  world's 
child  into  bondage  for  sixteen  long  years  to  one  of  the  most  cruel 
and  cold-hearted  masters.  The  bond  required  schooling  each 


20  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE    LONE    ONE. 

winter ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  time,  when  twenty-one  years 
of  life  should  render  the  boy  a  man  capable  of  selling  himself,  two 
suits  of  clothes,  and  a  hundred  dollars  in  money,  were  to  be  his 
compensation  for  services.  He  was  transferred  from  the  mountain 
to  the  home  of  David,  but  never  to  the  affections.  Even  the  children 
were  taught  to  manifest  superiority  over  him,  —  ho  was  with,  but 
not  of  them.  Not  one  spark  of  sympathy  or  love  could  be  afforded 
him,  for  he  was  the  child  of  nobody  in  this  world.  Many  a  time 
a  sore  back,  or  a  bruised  body,  evinced  the  physical  superiority  and 
heartless  cruelty  of  David ;  often  for  trifling  offences  unavoidable 
to  the  boy ;  the  marks  of  frost  and  exposure  on  the  extremities  of 
his  body  remained  for  years,  and  the  effects  of  hard  labor,  sadly 
unproportioned  to  his  strength,  remained  still  at  the  end  of  the 
fourth  decade.  True,  the  old  jockey  would  sometimes  come  to 
visit  his  son  David,  and  pat  the  boy  on  the  head,  and  say  "  my 
son,"  —  words  which  he  never  heard  from  other  lips  addressed  to 
him,  and  at  which  his  heart  would  leap  with  joy ;  and  he  thought, 
if  David  would  only  say  those  words,  how  he  would  try  to  be 
good.  The  effects  of  this  severe  treatment  can  only  be  entirely 
removed  when  he  changes  his  home  for  that  of  his  mother,  or  other 
spirit-friends.  The  summers  came,  and  the  winters  came,  and  toil, 
toil,  toil,  was  his  portion.  Not  school,  nor  play.  True,  an  old 
spelling-book  said,  "  All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull 
boy."  If  so,  he  must  have  been  a  "  dull  boy."  A  poet  says 
"  work  is  worship."  If  so,  the  Lone  One  was  indeed  a  "  devout 
child ;"  and  yet  the  Christian  creeds  would  have  consigned  him  to 
hell,  as  the  fashionable  circles  of  society  already  had  done  for  this 
life.  Heavily,  and  slowly,  the  years  rolled  away,  bringing  to  his 
childhood  only  misery  and  grief.  There  was  no  "  under-ground 
railroad  "  to  take  him  to  freedom ;  and  no  freedom  for  him  to  be 
taken  into,  except  in  the  far-distant,  and  to  him  mystic,  number, 
twenty-one.  Why  that  should  be  the  age  for  freedom,  he  knew 
not ;  but  so  it  was  written,  and  he  was  the  victim.  Why  that  three- 
seven  number  should  be  a  key  to  unlock  manhood  in  a  boy  was, 
and  still  is,  a  mystery  to  the  Lone  One.  Gladly  would  he  have 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  21 

escaped  from  this  bondage  to  his  mother,  in  "  silent  sleep,"  or 
"  spirit-land,"  or  heaven,  or  hell,  or  anywhere  where  she  could 
meet  him,  and  once  more  embrace  him,  and  call  him  her  child. 
But  large  caution,  and  a  naturally  timid  heart,  prevented  him 
from  self-destruction,  even  years  after  the  point  of  time  registered 
here.  Thus  rolled  away  the  last  half  of  the  first  decade,  and 
brought  the  age  of  ten,  to  which  he  longingly  looked  as  a  time 
when  he  should  be  almost  a  man ;  but,  alas,  how  disappointed  was 
the  boy  !  —  he  was  still  a  stinted  lad.  Sorrow,  too  deep,  too  keen, 
to  be  impressed  here,  bore  down  the  childish  glee  and  youthful 
impulses  of  his  heart.  Reasoning  superficially,  one  would  say 
this  treatment  followed  so  long  in  this  period  of  life  would  crush 
out  every  spark  of  love  and  sympathy  from  his  tender  and  child- 
ish heart,  and  that  he  would  be  hardened  for  crime,  and 
driven  in  madness  to  wage  war  on  the  race ;  but  it  was  not  so. 
Deeply  seated  in  his  very  soul  was  an  ardent  yearning  for  love 
and  sympathy,  that  no  cruelty  could  extinguish ;  it  was  ready  at 
the  first  warm  ray  of  love  to  spring  into  life  and  growth.  He 
had  felt,  although  he  had  not  read,  that  "  Whom  the  heart  of 
man  casts  out,  straightway  the  heart  of  God  takes  in." 

Five  long  years  with  a  mother's  love  and  nothing  else,  and  five 
longer  ones  without  even  that,  —  for  a  God,  said  to  be  a  "  God  of 
love,"  had  taken  her  away,  and  left  the  boy  without  any  consola- 
tion, —  save  in  the  future,  and  in  freedom  at  twenty-one ;  when 
the  new  year  and  fine  days  brought  a  birth-day  dream,  from  the 
poet. 

"  He  dreamed  that  in  another  sphere 

He  had  the  cycles  run  ; 
Ten  million  million  centuries, 
Yet  life  had  but  begun. 

"  Earth  on  her  way  was  moving  still, 

The  moon  wore  still  her  light, 
The  planets  wheeled  their  stated  round, 
The  unfading  sun  was  bright. 


22  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

"  And  many  a  universe  he  saw, 

Ranged  in  the  boundless  space, 
Around  the  Almighty's  central  throne. 
That  saw  their  tireless  race. 

"But  yet  he  sought  this  little  earth, 

The  scene  of  life's  first  years, 
Where  first  he  knew  of  joy  or  grief, 
Of  loves,  and  hopes,  and  fears. 

"  Earth  had  become  a  paradise  ; 

No  more  was  strife  or  wrong, 
Or  poverty  or  fell  disease, 
That  it  had  known  so  long. 

"  No  more  o'er  virtue  vice  arose, 

Or  worst  above  the  best ; 
All  shared  the  gifts  of  God  alike, 
And  all  alike  were  blessed. ' ' 

Thus  closed  the  first  ten  years  of  life  in  sorrowful  bondage, 
condemned,  despised,  scorned,  abused,  only  because  he  had  entered 
the  world,  (not  voluntarily) ;  not  because  he  had  abused  it  or 
sinned,  but  because  God  had  (as  the  Christian  said)  sent  him 
here  with  a  nature  totally  depraved,  and  forced  him  through  a 
totally  depraved  channel,  in  the  estimation  of  society,  without  his 
consent.  Whether  he  was  here  to  expiate  the  sins  of  a  former 
life,  or  as  a  missionary,  or  only  for  development  and  growth, 
could  not  at  this  period  of  existence  be  determined. 

"  There  is  no  wind  but  soweth  seeds 

Of  a  more  true  and  open  life, 
Which  burst,  unlooked-for,  in  high-souled  deeds, 
With  wayside  beauty  rife." 


CHAPTER   II. 
SECOND  DECADE  OF  THE  WORLD'S   CHILD. 

The  Ragged  Orphan.  —  The  Fugitive  Slave  not  delivered  up. — The  Change  of 
Homes. —  The  Commencement  of  Education.  —  Good  and  Bad  mixed. —  Wind' 
ing  into  Manhood. 

SECTION  I. 

FUGITIVE. 

ON  the  cold,  stormy  morning  of  January  5,  1823,  the  boy 
awoke  from  his  "  sweet  dream  of  peace,"  and  found  himself  still 
a  boy  in  condition  and  stature,  in  the  worst  form  of  limited 
slavery,  such  as  New  England  retained  after  she  had  freed  her 
colored  slaves.  Within  her  limits  slavery  had  not  then  ceased, 
although  she  had  received  the  applause  of  some  philanthropists, 
and  even  many  years  after,  barbarism  could  be  found ;  for  an  old 
man  was  imprisoned  sixty  days,  in  Boston,  for  publishing  in  his 
own  paper  the  fact  that  he  did  not  believe  in  their  orthodox  God. 
Selling  orphans  and  imprisoning  infidels  were  sufficient  works  of 
cruelty  to  moderate  her  zeal  on  the  subject  of  oppression,  —  or 
ought  to  have  been,  at  least,  until  her  own  hands  were  clean. 
True,  it  did  not  palliate  the  crimes  of  others  ;  but  trying  to  get  the 
mote  from  our  brother's  eye,  with  abeam  in  our  own,  was  appropri- 
ately condemned  by  One  long  ago.  The  second  decade  opened  with 
a  renewal  of  the  gloomy  pilgrimage  of  his  earthly  journey,  ragged 
and  dirty,  despised  and  dejected.  The  great  pendulum  of  time 
made  its  monthly  crossings,  and  at  each  swing  groaned  "  no  hope," 
—  no  hope  in  this  life,  nor  of  heaven  beyond.  He  had  now  begun  to 
sin,  although  he  could  not  read ;  and  was  on  the  broad  road  to  hell 
for  sinning  against  God,  of  whom  he  only  knew  what  the  swearers 


24  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

and  boys  told  him  ;  for  he  had  neither  time  or  clothes  that  would 
allow  of  his  going  to  hear  what  the  preacher  could  tell  about 
God  and  the  devil ;  and,  if  he  had,  in  his  unsophisticated  nature, 
it  is  doubtful  which  he  would  have  chosen  for  a  master ;  for  he 
still  supposed  God  killed  his  mother.  New  England  had  her 
churches,  her  schools,  her  social  and  family  circles,  her  high  life 
and  her  low  life.  The  latter  alone  could  he  endure  (not  enjoy) ; 
the  songs  of  joy  and  mirth  went  booming  up  from  the  groups  of 
boys  and  girls  at  their  merry  plays,  but  the  Lone  One  had  no 
share  in  them. 

"  Without,  in  tatters,  the  world's  poor  child 
Sobbeth  alone  his  grief,  his  pain ; 
No  one  heareth  him,  no  one  heedeth  him. 
But  winter,  his  friend,  with  his  cold,  tight  hand, 
Grasps  his  form,  whispering  huskily, 
What  dost  thou  in  a  Christian  land?  " 

David  had  already  begun  to  make  encroachments  on  the  title- 
deeds  of  his  neighbors,  adding  at  least  one  farm  to  his  own,  and 
was  reaching  after  others,  when,  for  reasons  not  to  be  mentioned 
here,  his  affairs  became  neglected,  his  business  left  at  loose  ends, 
and  he  began  to  go  down-hill,  as  the  neighbors  said.  Then  every 
one  was  ready  to  give  him  a  push  or  kick,  which  only  made  him  more 
cross  and  cruel  to  those  under  his  control.  Domestic  troubles,  too, 
and  unkind  treatment  of  his  wife,  made  her  not  less  severe  and  cruel 
to  the  world's  child.  She,  however,  was  never  as  severe  as  David 
—  being  by  nature  a  woman,  and  a  mother,  in  marriage.  She  seldom 
used  the  rod,  but  only  used  her  tongue  for  a  weapon ;  which, 
although  severe  to  the  sensitive  heart  of  the  boy,  did  not  lacerate 
the  body  and  soul  both,  as  the  treatment  of  David  did.  Prosperity 
and  adversity  are  neighbors,  and  their  dominions  border  on  each 
other.  The  sun  crosses  the  line  at  the  vernal  equinox,  and  lets 
winter  into  summer  through  spring,  and  again  at  the  autumnal 
equinox  lets  summer  glide  through  the  autumn  into  winter.  So 
our  lives  often  are  changed  by  crossing  a  line,  and  we  glide  into 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  25 

prosperity  or  adversity,  after  nearing  each  day  or  week  the  mar- 
gin ;  then  turn  again,  as  David  has,  since  he  crossed  over  Jor- 
dan, and  went  to  the  world,  but  not  to  the  home,  of  the  mother 
of  the  orphaned  boy.  David  usually  kept  his  own  counsel,  and 
consulted  himself  only,  on  business  matters.  For  reasons  best 
known  to  himself,  he  rented  the  rocky  farm  and  old  homestead, 
and  moved  to  a  small  manufacturing  village  on  the  Lamprey 
River,  to  make  money  by  keeping  boarders.  In  this  new  home  the 
almost  constant  presence  of  boarders  or  other  persons  rendered  it 
more  difficult  for  David  to  treat  the  boy  as  badly  as  he  had  done 
on  the  farm  ;  for  he  had  some  shame,  as  most  persons  have,  and  did 
not  like  to  have  people  see  him  abuse  the  little  urchin.  New, 
and  more,  acquaintances  were  now  formed  by  the  Lone  One,  and 
all,  especially  the  boys,  had  much  sympathy  for  him  ;  for  they 
knew  he  was  not  treated  well  and  could  not  read,  for  the  school- 
ing contract  was  not  fulfilled  to  the  letter,  but  another  kind  of 
schooling  substituted  for  that  designated  in  the  bond.  He  heard 
stories  of  runaway  boys,  and  boys  going  to  sea,  &c.,  and  his  mind 
dwelt  much,  both  day  and  night,  on  the  subject,  until  he  was  fully 
resolved  to  try  his  luck  for  freedom,  by  running  away.  But 
where  to  go,  and  how  to  introduce  himself,  penniless,  friend- 
less, ragged,  and  unlettered,  was  still  a  source  of  great  per- 
plexity, and  one  on  which  he  could  form  no  plan,  and  did  not. 
He  ventured  to  consult  some  of  his  more  intimate  boy-compan- 
ions, and  they  advised  him  to  go  to  the  ocean  and  get  on  a  vessel, 
and  "  go  to  sea,"  as  the  safest  mode  of 'escape.  But  how  to  get 
there  without  a  penny ;  for,  although  he  was  fourteen  years  old, 
he  had  never  possessed  money  in  his  life,  except  once  a  few 
cents  to  spend  at  a  training,  and  scarcely  knew  the  value  of  com- 
mon coins,  except  what  the  boys  had  taught  him  for  amusement, 
or  from  charity  ;  for  they  had  both  for  him.  Seven  years  more 
of  such  servitude  was  too  much  for  endurance,  and  almost  any 
change  preferable ;  and  he  resolved  to  embrace  the  first  favorable 
opportunity,  and  flee  from  bondage  and  the  "  wrath  to  come." 
About  the  middle  of  the  first  decade,  the  transition  of  the 
3 


26  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

mother  and  the  sale  into  bondage  made  a  great  change  in  the 
condition  of  the  L<ne  One,  and  now  approached  the  middle  of  the 
second  decade,  with  another  important  event  in  embryo.  The 
fourteenth  birth-day  had  passed  over  in  the  winter,  and  spring 
had  come  round  with  a  May-day  and  flowers,  and  yet  no  oppor- 
tunity for  escape  offered  itself  to  the  captive,  until  near  the 
middle  of  May,  when  David  left  home  for  the  old  homestead  on 
one  Saturday,  intending  to  return  on  Monday.  The  day  set  apart 
for  the  preachers  to  labor  and  the  lay  members  to  cease  work  had 
dawned  beautifully  on  that  spot  of  earth  where  the  Lone  One 
slept  and  mused,  feeling  the  sentiment  of  Gertrude  Ladd,  as 
expressed  in  these  beautiful  lines : 

"  Alone,  I  murmur,  as  I  gaze  upon  the  darkened  past, 
Alone  I  've  wandered  on  my  weary  way, 

While  dangers  thick  and  fast 
Have  gathered  round  me  day  by  day, 
My  happiness  to  blast. 

"  Alone,  alone  I  sigh,  as  in  the  future  drear 

I  turn  my  weary,  wandering  eye, 
And  hope  some  friendly  voice  to  hear, 
Some  cheering  beacon  to  descry, 
My  soul  to  cheer. 

"  Alone  no  more  I  '11  murmur,  for  I  see 

Far  in  the  future  dark  a  glimmering  light, 

Which  seems  to  beckon  me 
Unto  a  region. beautiful  and  bright, 
Where  day  reigns  ever,  clouded  ne'er  by  night  — 

Alone  no  more  I  '11  be." 

When  the  noon  had  passed,  and  the  still  pleasant  day  was 
declining,  three  boys  parted  company  two  or  three  miles  from 
their  homes :  two  returning,  and  one  going  on  from  home  —  if, 
indeed,  it  was  a  home  he  left.  They  have  never  met  again,  and 
the  one  has  never  returned ;  for  he  "  ran  away,"  so  they  said 
From  a  poor  old  friendless  man,  once  acquainted  with  the  mother 
of  the  Lone  One,  who  labored  sometimes  for  David,  the  boy  had 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  27 

heard  of  a  distant  connection  of  his  mother,  who  lived  in  poverty 
about  seven  miles  from  the  boarding-house ;  and  he  had  learnec 
the  direction  to  her  house,  or  shanty.  When  the  sun  sank  in  the 
west,  and  tinged  with  its  beautiful  rays  the  skirt  of  clouds  on  the 
horizon's  verge,  the  world's  child  was  nearing  the  poverty  home 
of  the  widow  and  the  old-maid  daughter,  which  made  up  the  fam- 
ily of  these  relatives.  He  had  three  small  crackers  in  his  pocket, 
and  nothing  more  of  any  kind  ;  barefoot,  old  chip  hat  on  his  head, 
cotton  shirt  (clean,  for  it  was  Sabbath),  tow-cloth  pants,  and 
short  coat,  made  up  his  dress,  and  his  all.  A  body  and  a  sensitive 
heart  were  there ;  for,  although  ten  long  years  of  cruelty  and  pain 
had  worn  upon  the  youthful  frame,  yet  the  poet's  words  were  true, 
who  saith, 

"  You  may  break,  you  may  ruin,  the  vase,  if  you  will, 
But  the  scent  of  the  roses  will  hang  round  it  still." 

He  reached  and  entered  the  poverty  home,  so  like  the  one  where 
he  once  lived  with  a  mother,  with  one  treasure,  —  only  one  —  the 
currency  of  heaven.  Love,  only  love  was  to  be  found,  of  all  the 
comforts  of  life ;  but  that  is  a  treasure.  They  met  him  not  with 
scorn,  for 

"  Scorn  is  for  devils  ;  soft  compassion  lies 
In  angel  hearts,  and  beams  from  angel  eyes;" 

and  by  this  rule  two  angels  met  him  here,  and  shed  around  his 
lonely  heart  the  balmy  influence  of  love  once  more,  —  but  only  a 
fitful  gleam,  to  brighten  for  a  moment  the  pathway  of  life,  then  let 
it  sink  again  to  loneliness  and  gloom ;  but  it  was  all  they  could 
do.  They  shared  with  him  the  homely  meal  at  night  and  morn,  and 
divided  for  him  the  scanty  bed-clothes,  and  heard,  with  tears  of 
sorrow  and  pity,  the  story  of  his  woes;  but  could  not  offer  protec- 
tion or  relief;  for,  in  that  hard,  cold  place,  it  was  barely  possible 
for  them  to  sustain  life  in  themselves  by  the  strictest  economy  and 
industry.  When  the  morning  was  come  it  was  necessary  for  them 
to  part,  for  the  first  and  last  time ;  and,  however  painful,  it  was 


ZO  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    oNE. 

their  duty  to  give  the  best  advice  they  could,  for  this,  and  the 
sympathy  of  loving  hearts,  was  all  they  had  to  spare.  They  did 
not  know  his  mother  was  with  him.  lie  did  not  know  it ;  for  his, 
and  their,  spiritual  senses  were  not  opened  sufficiently  to  recognize 
the  presence  of  spirits.  But  she  was  with  him,  and  guiding  his 
course  by  an  unseen  influence.  They  advised  him  to  return,  and 
excuse  himself  as  well  as  he  could  for  his  visit  to  them,  and  await 
a  better  opportunity  to  escape ;  for  they  could  conceive  of  no 
means  of  escape,  and  no  prospect  of  assistance  or  of  a  home  for 
him  elsewhere.  A  hearty  good-by  and  God  bless  you  parted 
the  three,  and  he  started  in  the  direction  of  his  master's  residence, 
making  slow  steps,  and  with  a  sad  heart.  Soon  as  he  was  out 
of  sight  of  the  house,  an  impression,  strong  and  irresistible, 
induced  him  to  get  over  the  fence  and  wander  away  from  the 
road,  and  turn  his  steps  again  to  the  eastward,  and /row  the  home 
of  David ;  and  some  unseen  power,  for  many  years  of  unknown 
origin  to  him,  kept  him  out  of  sight  from  the  road,  until  the  man  in 
pursuit  of  him  on  horseback  from  David's  home  had  passed  on  to 
the  bridge  at  Durham,  and  returned,  unable  to  see  or  hear  of  such 
a  boy  as  he  was  seeking.  After  this  man  in  pursuit  of  the 
fugitive  had  returned  (although  unknown  to  the  boy,  for  he  did  not 
expect  to  be  pursued  until  David  returned),  he  again,  near  noon, 
entered  the  road  near  a  bridge  and  ship-yard  in  Durham,  and 
crossed  the  bridge.  The  men  stopped  their  work  and  looked  at 
the  boy,  the  same  one  inquired  after  a  short  time  before,  by 
the  man  on  horseback,  and  described  as  a  runaway ;  but  they 
did  not  arrest  nor  molest  him,  and  he  passed  on,  turning  uncon- 
sciously to  the  left,  and  taking  the  road  which  led  to  his  native 
town.  Hastening  on,  but  he  knew  not  where ;  a  cracker  served  for 
a  dinner ;  for  he  did  not  dare  to  enter  a  house  and  ask  for  food, 
lest  he  should  be  questioned  and  detected  as  a  fugitive,  not  from 
justice,  but  from  servitude.  When  the  sun  was  again  in  the  west, 
and  the  curtain  of  day  lowering  down  to  the  western  horizon,  and 
his  limbs  were  already  weary,  and  his  stomach  stayed  by  one 
small  cracker,  he  recognized  a  tavern  in  Northwood,  a  town  ad- 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  29 

joining  his  native  Pittsfield,  and  thus  for  the  first  time  discov- 
ered that  he  was  on  the  road  leading  to  his  old  home.  Scarcely 
had  he  passed  the  place,  when  a  new  difficulty  arose  in  his  mind. 
David  was  to  return  this  day  from  his  old  place,  and  might  he  not 
meet  him,  and  with  another  terrible  beating  be  returned  to  servi- 
tude, and  watched  so  as  to  prevent  another  escape  ?  In  the  very 
midst  of  these  fears  a  team  appeared  on  a  hill  before  him,  and  he 
recognized  the  horses  and  driver.  It  was  David,  truly.  Not  a 
moment  was  there  to  spare.  No  house,  or  barn,  or  grove,  was  near 
enough  to  screen  him ;  but  David  did  not  know  of  his  escape,  and 
of  course  was  not  on  the  lookout,  and,  beside,  was  busy  in  con- 
versation with  a  passenger.  Over  the  stone  wall,  and  curled  down 
behind  it,  was  the  runaway  boy  as  the  master  passed  unsuspect- 
ingly by,  in  the  heat  and  glow  of  earnest  conversation,  and  the 
trembling  boy  now  returned  to  the  road  and  his  journey.  That 
great  danger  had  passed,  and  become  another  evidence  that 

"  We  see  but  half  the  causes  of  our  deeds, 
Seeking  them  wholly  in  the  outer  life, 
And  heedless  of  the  encircling  spirit- world, 
Which,  though  unseen,  is  felt,  and  sows  in  us 
All  germs  of  pure  and  world-wide  purposes." 

When  the  sun  was  gone  down,  and  it  was  yet  light,  he  was  on 
old  Catamount  Mountain,  from  which  he  could  see  the  spires  of 
those  buildings  erected  to  save  the  souls  in  his  own  native  town, 
and  where,  of  course,  he  ought  to  have  his  soul  saved,  if  he  could 
not  his  body.  But  there  was  poor  chance  for  either  to  be  saved  in 
him  ;  for  he  was  the  world's  child,  and  the  town  was  his  guardian  — 
not  the  church,  for  the  church  turned  his  mother  out  for  becoming 
a  mother,  as  Mary  of  old  did,  without  their  or  the  magistrate's  per- 
mission ;  but  Grod  soon  after  took  her  into  heaven,  as  he  did  Mary. 
Down  the  long  and  winding  road  of  the  mountain-side  to  the  vil- 
lage, as  the  daylight  passed  away  circle  by  circle,  he  moved 
weary  and  sad,  hungry  and  dejected,  in  a  Christian  land,  with  a 
spirit  for  a  guide,  unbeknown  to  him  or  others.  The  mother  and 
3* 


30  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

child  entered  the  village  late  in  eve,  when  the  lamps  were 
gone  out  in  the  parlor,  and  the  smoke-fires  covered  up  ;  when 
Somnus  had  spread  his  net  over  the  village.  Where  to  go,  on 
whom  to  call,  was  the  next  great  question.  He  had  no  friends  in 
the  village.  About  two  miles  to  the  eastward  was  the  grave  of 
his  mother,  and  some  remnants  of  her  paternal  home,  and  its  poor 
but  kind  inmates ;  but  it  was  night,  and  a  dark  wood  of  pine  and 
hemlock  was  by  the  way  on  each  side  of  the  road  part  of  the 
distance,  and  the  boy  dare  not  go  over  the  road  in  the  night.  A 
still  greater  obstacle  was  the  grave-yard  which  lay  by  the  road- 
side, skirted  by  a  wood  on  one  side,  and  church  on  another.  By 
this  he  certainly  could  not  pass  in  the  night ;  for  he  had  heard 
marvellous  stories  of  ghosts,  and  something  of  a  Holy  Ghost  which 
dwelt  in  the  ghostly  church,  and  he  dreaded  and  feared  them  all, 
both  the  Holy  and  unholy.  These  obstacles  were  insurmountable ; 
therefore  he  retired  to  the  tavern  barn-yard  to  take  lodgings  with 
the  cattle,  for  they  did  not  have  to  pay  money,  and  he  had  none 
to  pay.  Sometimes  he  crept  on  their  backs,  and  sometimes  he 
drove  them  up,  and  took  the  warm  spot  of  ground  till  it  was  cold ; 
and  thus  he  spent  the  long,  cold  May  night  in  the  tavern-yard 
with  the  cattle,  sleeping  on  the  ground  till  awakened  by  the  cold 
several  times.  At  length  morning  came,  and  the  ghosts  retired 
from  their  night-watch  over  the  graves,  and  the  imaginary  bears 
to  their  forest  dens  nowhere,  and  the  boy  again  started,  his  bare  feet 
on  the  ground  white  with  frost,  (nothing  new  for  him),  and  by  exer- 
cise soon  warmed  his  chilled  body,  rendered  feeble  with  the  exercise 
and  hunger  of  twenty-four  hours.  He  reached  the  old  home  of  his 
grandmother,  who  was  still  alive,  but  just  on  the  verge  of  the  other 
life  which  comes  next  after  this.  He  was  soon  warmed  and  fed, 
and  the  neighboring  women  called  in  to  council  with  those  of  the 
household  upon  what  should  be  done.  A  little  incident  occurred 
here  which  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  boy's  mind.  He  had 
found  in  the  road,  the  day  before  his  arrival,  a  pair  of  long  stock- 
ings, done  up  as  is  usual  for  packing  in  a  valise,  and  had  brought 
them  with  him  to  this  home.  He  heard  the  women  express  a  fear 


LIFE-LINE  OF    THE   LONE    ONE.  31 

that  he  had  stolen  them.  To  be  suspected  of  stealing  was  too 
much  for  his  sensitive  soul,  and  he  went  off  and  wept  alone,  sorry 
that  he  must  live  in  such  a  suspicious  world,  or  world  of  rogues 
on  the  constant  lookout  for  rogues,  and  of  honest  people  full  of 
suspicion. 

Tbe  council  of  women  decided  to  take  the  boy  to  the  selectmen 
of  the  town,  and  send  the  best  pleader  among  them  to  make  a  plea 
for  his  release  from  the  bondage,  and  to  induce  them  to  try  and 
find  him  another  home.  The  best  pleader  was  a  lady,  —  not  a  con- 
nection, but  a  sympathizing  friend  ;  and  she  went  with  the  boy  to 
the  trio  who  were  in  session  next  day  after  the  arrival  of  the 
fugitive.  They  were  aware  of  the  cruel  treatment  by  David,  and 
that  the  boy  had  not  been  sent  to  school  according  to  the  agree- 
ment ;  and  also  that  David  had  failed,  and  was  not  likely  to  be  able 
to  pay  the  one  hundred  dollars  at  the  end  of  six  more  years. 
Hence  the  cause  did  not  need  the  skill  and  pleading  powers  of 
Mrs.  R.,  for  they  at  once  resolved  that  the  boy  should  not  be  sent 
back  to  bondage  in  that  place.  When  this  announcement  was 
made  one  glad  heart  leaped  with  joy.  One  bound  of  joyous  feel- 
ing, too  strong  to  utter,  filled  his  soul  to  overflowing ;  and  a  burst 
of  tears  gave  them  the  thanks  his  lips  could  not  speak,  and  proved 
the  sensitive  soul  was  not  all  callous  or  frozen ;  yet  it  could  scarcely 
prove  that  Tupper  was  wrong  in  this  sentiment, 

"  Scratch  the  green  rind  of  a  sapling,  or  wantonly  twist  it  in  the  soil, 
The  scarred  and  crooked  oak  •will  tell  of  thee  for  centuries  to  come." 

SECTION    II. 

EMANCIPATED. 

One  of  the  three,  whose  Christian  name  was  Nathaniel,  readily 
offered  the  boy  a  home  at  his  own  house ;  for  he  at  once  felt  the 
warm  and  deep  gratitude  gushing  from  his  soul  at  the  prospect  of 
release  from  the  tyrant.  The  Lone  One  never  saw  David  again ; 
for  when  he  came  after  the  fugitive  he  soon  learned  that  the 
authorities  had  agreed  to  protect  the  boy,  and  returned  to  reflect 


32  LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

on  his  treatment.  A  few  years  after,  he  passed  over  the  cold  Jor- 
dan stream,  and  judged  himself  "  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body ; "  passed  sentence,  and  went  away  to  work  out  a  happier 
condition,  which  he  has  long  since  attained. 

"  Human  life  is  as  the  Cliian  wine, 

Flavored  into  him  who  drinketh  it." 
And 

"  In  the  perfect  circle  of  creation,  not  an  atom  could  be  spared, 
From  earth's  magnetic  zone,  to  the  bind  weed  round  a  hawthorn." 

That  night  the  boy  slept  at  a  new  home,  — u  home  where  he  was 
treated  as  one  of  the  family,  with  a  kindness  he  felt  but  could  not 
respond  to,  save  by  feelings  and  tears  which  were  almost  constant, 
now  the  crushed  heart  collected  and  expressed  its  native  and  in- 
stinctive fragrance.  It  was  no  task  to  labor  now,  for  he  was  fed, 
clothed,  and  treated  kindly  by  all  the  family ;  but  how  utterly 
unfit  he  was  for  such  company,  having  been  for  ten  long  years 
treated  as  a  dog,  never  admitted  into  company,  except  to  skulk 
and  sneak  as  a  dog  in  a  corner,  eating  on  soiled  dishes  the  frag- 
ments left  at  meal-times  by  the  family,  or  boarders,  and  only 
allowed  to  speak  in  answer  to  questions  to  the  head  of  the  family. 
How  truly  the  family  of  Nathaniel  proved  the  truth  of  the  poet's 

words  — 

"  The  very  flowers  that  bend  and  meet 
In  sweetening  others  grow  more  sweet ! ' ' 

for  they  did  truly  sweeten  the  bitter  life-draught  of  sorrow 
•which  the  Lone  One  was  compelled  to  accept  with  life.  God  or 
nature  did  reward  this  family ;  for,  twenty  years  after  the  Lone 
One  left  the  town,  he  returned,  and  found  Nathaniel,  ripened  in 
years,  going  in  peace,  happy,  to  his  spirit  home ;  the  wife  already 
gone  over,  and  the  children  all  grown  up  in  health  and  plenty, 
educated  and  happy.  But  the  Lone  One  was  not  needed  at  this 
home,  which  was  only  offered  him  temporarily ;  and,  after  a  few 
months,  moved  to  the  old  homestead  of  Nathaniel's  wife,  where 
her  two  old-bachelor  brothers  carried  on  the  large  farm,  and  hired, 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE  LONE   ONE.  33 

instead  of  marrying,  housekeepers.  Here  the  orphaned  boy  found 
a  happy  home,  and  kind  treatment  from  Samuel  and  John  and  their 
housekeepers.  He  was  no  more  abused,  and  his  soul  continued 
to  swell  with  gratitude  and  with  love  and  kindness  to  other  beings. 

"  For  love  through  love  increaseth,  and  hate  begetteth  hate." 

Summer  and  autumn  passed,  —  the  first  happy  ones  to  the  lone 
heart  since  the  days  of  his  mother,  —  but  when  winter  came  a  new 
trouble  arose.  He  must  go  to  school ;  a  fine  large  schoolhouse 
was  near,  and  a  long  school-term,  with  many  scholars,  and  he  a 
boy  of  fifteen,  and  could  not  even  read.  How  could  his  sensitive 
soul  bear  the  laugh  and  scorn  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  his  age  who 
were  advanced  in  their  studies?  But  when  the  school  began  he 
appeared  and  took  his  place  with  the  least  and  youngest  class  in 
the  school,  to  learn  to  read  ;  the  butt  for  jokes,  and  object  of  rid- 
icule and  scorn  of  the  school,  but  not  of  the  teacher,  for  his  sym- 
pathy was  called  out,  and  he  aided  the  ardent  and  sensitive 
spirit  in  its  struggles.  The  progress  was  rapid,  and  did  not  stop 
until,  at  the  fourth  winter,  he  was  the  best  and  furthest-advanced 
scholar  in  the  school.  Then  the  jokes  and  ridicule  turned  to 
admiration.  The  whole  power  of  the  soul  was  called  into  action, 
and  it  soon  made  up  for  lost  years  by  renewed  energies.  Two 
years  the  boy  lived  with  this  happy  family  of  Universalists,  and 
they  were  real  and  true  Christians,  if,  indeed,  Christians  were  the 
good  and  charitable  people  of  earth ;  for  no  cross  word  was  ever 
spoken  to  the  boy  by  them,  and  his  heart  began  to  grow  into  sym- 
pathy with  the  world,  for  he  found,  at  length,  that  all  were  not 
like  David.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  entered  into  a  contract 
with  a  family  whose  farm  adjoined  that  of  the  bachelors,  lying  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  where  the  large  old  two-stories  house  is  still 
standing,  with  many  other  marks  of  the  industry  of  one  of  the  bes*" 
families  of  the  town.  There  he  lived  till  the  number  of  years 
required  by  law  made  him  a  man,  with  civil  and  political  rights,  like 
other  men.  Earned  and  received  the  one  hundred  dollars  and  two 
suits  of  clothes,  such  as  were  named  in  the  bond  of  David.  Re- 


54  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

ceived  the  schooling  and  the  best  of  care  for  his  health  of  body, 
and  always  kind  treatment  and  a  good  home.  He  was  ever  one 
of  the  family,  and  treated  as  one,  but  was  the  only  young  person 
in  the  family,  which  consisted  of  Bracket  and  his  wife,  his  father 
Moses  and  wife,  and  two  maiden  sisters  of  Bracket ;  all  of  whom 
were  gone  over  to  the  other  home,  when  he  returned,  twenty  years 
after  he  left  them,  and  in  the  old  homestead  was  a  second  wife  of 
Bracket,  a  widow,  with  her  two  bright  boys,  overjoyed  to  see  one 
of  whom  they  had  so  often  heard  the  family  and  neighbors  speak. 
Bracket  and  his  mother  had,  by  the  advice  of  some  physician 
ignorant  of  human  nature  and  the  nature  of  tobacco,  been  advised 
to  smoke,  and  were  inveterate  smokers ;  and  the  Lone  One,  who 
wished  to  imitate  and  copy  the  acts  of  good  men,  here  learned  the 
filthy,  contaminating,  and  expensive  habit  of  smoking,  and  followed 
it  for  near  fifteen  years,  until  his  mind  reached  a  degree  of  develop- 
ment that  could  not  longer  tolerate  the  nuisance.  Many  marks  of 
the  four  years'  residence  and  labor  on  this  farm  by  the  orphan  boy 
are  yet  visible,  and  many  marks  of  books  and  facts  obtained  there 
are  still  bright  in  his  memory  ;  for  a  younger  brother  of  Bracket, 
then  in  college  and  at  law,  lent  or  gave  to  the  Lone  One  many 
books  which  he  needed  and  was  not  able  to  buy,  and  thus  assisted 
him  in  his  education. 

At  this  home  terminated  the  second  decade.  Still  lonely  and 
desolate  in  soul  was  the  world's  child.  But  cruelty  to  him  had 
ceased,  and  kindness,  and  care  of  his  body  and  its  wants,  were  now 
secured ;  yet  life  was  desolate,  dreary,  and  almost  aimless,  for 
what  could  he  do  to  erase  the  stigma  of  his  birth,  and  evade  the 
"  sleet  of  scorn,"  the  scorching  flame  of  contempt,  the  vulgar  dis- 
gust, of  those  who  were  better  born.  No  matter  whether  it  was 
God  or  the  Devil  who  was  author  of  the  causes  that  brought  about 
the  event ;  the  boy  alone  was  now  left  to  bear  the  stigma,  for  it 
could  not  be  forgotten  nor  forgiven  while  one  was  living  to  bear 
it.  How  could  he  overcome  it?  How  could  he  become  respect- 
able? How  obtain  friends,  wealth,  fame? 

Much  he  needed  books  and  instruction  on  physiology,  as  all 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  85 

children  do  in  the  second  decade  of  life ;  but  at  that  time  works, 
on  that  subject,  most  required  of  all,  were  prohibited  by  a  squeam- 
ishness  in  public  opinion,  and  as  much  excluded  as  metaphysical 
works  were  by  religious  teachers.  True,  the  boy  did  not  have  his 
mind  filled  with  superstition  and  fanaticism.  He  was  not  taught 
to  call  Moses  the  meekest  man  nor  Solomon  the  wisest  that  ever 
lived,  nor  David  a  man  after  God's  own  heart ;  but  most  of  the 
books  which  he  found  in  the  town  library,  or  elsewhere,  were  satu- 
rated with  the  insipid,  or  poisonous,  doctrines  of  theology,  and  even 
the  school-books  had  been  revised  and  corrected  or  originally  writ- 
ten by  theologians,  and  filled  with  absurdities  mixed  with  the  truths 
of  science,  and  it  was  difficult  for  a  youthful  mind  to  sort  out  and 
reject  all  the  sophistry  of  an  educated  clergy.  Yet  his  mind  was 
too  much  in  accord  with  nature  to  admit  many  of  these  impositions 
on  her  beauty  and  harmony,  and  too  much  in  love  with  nature  to 
admit  such  absurd  imputations  on  her  character  as  modern  theology 
taught.  Thus  he  grew  more  and  more  in  love  with  science  and 
her  conclusions,  and  came  fully  to  the  conclusion  that  the  truth 
was  to  be  found  in  the  following  lines : 

"  'T  will  be  all  the  same  in  a  hundred  years  !  — 
What  a  spell-word  to  conjure  up  smiles  and  tears  ! 
0,  how  oft  do  I  muse,  'mid  the  thoughtless  and  gay, 
On  the  marvellous  truth  that  these  words  convey  ! 
And  can  it  be  so  ?  —  must  the  valiant  and  free 
Have  their  tenure  of  life  on  this  frail  decree  ? 
Are  the  trophies  they  've  reared,  and  the  glories  they  've  'won, 
Only  castles  of  frost-work  confronting  the  sun  ? 
And  must  all  that 's  as  joyous  and  brilliant  to  view 
As  a  mid-summer  dream  be  as  perishing,  too  ? 
Then  have  pity,  ye  proud  ones  !  — be  gentle,  ye  great ! 
0,  remember  how  mercy  beseemeth  your  state  ; 
For  the  rust  that  consumeth  the  sword  of  the  brave 
Is  eating  the  chain  of  the  manacled  slave, 
And  the  conqueror's  frowns  and  his  victim's  tears 
Will  be  all  the  same  in  a  hundred  years  ! 

"  'T  will  be  all  the  same  in  a  hundred  years  !  — 
What  a  spell-word  to  conjure  up  smiles  and  tears  ! 


86  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

How  dark  are  your  fortunes,  ye  sons  of  the  soil, 

Whose  heirloom  is  sorrow,  whose  birthright  is  toil ! 

Yet  envy  not  those  who  have  glory  and  gold, 

By  the  sweat  of  the  poor,  and  the  blood  of  the  bold  ; 

For  't  is  coming,  howe'er  they  may  flaunt  in  their  pride, 

The  day  when  they  '11  moulder  to  dust  by  your  side. 

Death  uniteth  the  children  of  toil  and  of  sloth, 

And  the  democrat  reptiles  carouse  upon  both  ; 

For  Time,  as  he  speeds  on  his  viewless  wings, 

Disenables  and  withers  all  earthly  things  ;  , 

And  the  knight's  white  plume,  and  the  shepherd's  crook, 

And  the  minstrel's  pipe,  and  the  scholar's  book, 

And  the  emperor's  crown,  and  the  Cossack's  spears, 

Will  be  dust  alike  in  a  hundred  years  ! 

*'  'Twill  be  all  the  same  in  a  hundred  years  !  — 
0,  most  magical  fountain  of  smiles  and  tears  ! 
To  think  that  our  hopes,  like  the  flowers  of  June, 
Which  we  love  so  much,  should  be  lost  so  soon  ! 
Then  what  meaneth  the  chase  after  phantom  joys, 
Or  the  breaking  of  human  hearts  for  toys, 
Or  the  veteran's  pride  in  his  crafty  schemes, 
Or  the  passions  of  youth  for  its  darling  dreams, 
Or  the  aiming  at  ends  that  we  never  can  span, 
Or  the  deadly  aversion  of  man  for  man?  — 
What  availeth  it  all  —  0,  ye  sages,  say  !  — 
Or  the  miser's  joy  in  his  brilliant  clay, 
Or  the  lover's  zeal  for  his  matchless  prize  — 
The  enchanting  maid  with  the  starry  eyes  — 
Or  the  feverish  conflict  of  hopes  and  fears, 
If  'tis  all  the  same  in  a  hundred  years  ?  " 

But  it  was  long  years  after  that  he  felt  the  truth  of  the  closing 
stanzas  of  the  poem. 

"  Ah  !  'tis  not  the  same  in  a  hundred  years, 
How  clear  soever  the  case  appears  ; 
For  know  ye  not,  that  beyond  the  grave, 
Far,  far  beyond,- where  the  cedars  wave 
On  the  Syrian  mountains,  or  where  the  stars 
Come  glittering  forth  in  their  golden  cars, 
There  bloometh  a  land  of  perennial  bliss, 
Where  we  smile  to  think  of  the  tears  in  this? 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  37 

And  the  pilgrim  reaching  that  radiant  shore 
Has  the  thought  of  death  in  his  heart  no  more, 
But  layeth  his  staff  and  sandals  down, 
For  the  victor's  palm  and  the  monarch's  crown. 
And  the  mother  meets,  in  that  tranquil  sphere, 
The  delightful  child  she  had  wept  for  here  ; 
And  we  quaff  of  the  same  immortal  cup, 
While  the  orphan  smiles,  and  the  slave  looks  up. 
So  be  glad,  my  heart,  and  forget  thy  tears, 
For  'tis  NOT  the  same  in  a  hundred  years  ! " 
4 


CHAPTER    III. 


Boyhood  changed  to  Manhood.  —  Education.  —  Scepticism  for  Religion.  — 
Love  and  Separation.  — Long  Journey.  —  Sickness.  — Marriage.  —Poverty. 
—  Struggles  for  Life  in  the  West. 

SECTION  I. 

MANHOOD. 

THE  kind-hearted  Bracket,  who  graduated  and  smoked  the 
orphan  into  manhood,  fulfilled  every  agreement,  and  even  more  in 
kindness  ;  and,  some  months  before  the  expiration  of  the  service- 
time,  the  school-months  enabled  the  boy  to  enter  the  academy  at 
Gilmanton  Corners,  to  obtain  such  educational  aid  as  could  not  be 
furnished  him  in  the  district-school  where,  five  years  before,  he 
commenced  to  learn  in  the  lowest  class,  the  object  of  ridicule  for 
the  school.  The  hill-foot  home  was  to  be  his  home  no  more.  It 
was  visited  by  him  soon  after,  at  the  death  and  burial  of  the  wife 
of  Bracket,  who  had  been  kind  to  him,  and  ever  attentive  to  his 
wants.  Her  suffering  was  great,  and  almost  a  double  affliction 
to  the  family ;  for  she  left  them  at  a  period  when  more  fortunate 
circumstances  might  have  doubled  the  joys  of  life  to  her  and 
Bracket.  It  was  the  beginning  of  Death's  encroachments  on  the 
family  circle,  which  only  ceased  when  it  had  taken  all,  and  the 
father  of  Bracket  last.  The  new  wife  and  two  boys  were  intro- 
duced before  the  messenger  took  Bracket.  In  the  spring  of  1855 
the  Lone  One  halted  an  hour,  to  cast  a  hasty  glance  over  the 
farm,  on  which  many  a  stone  was  resting  where  his  hand  had 
placed  it,  and  trees  were  growing  where  he  had  planted  them. 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  39 

The  lovely  boys  and  lonely  mother  welcomed  him  as  one  of  the 
family  of  the  old  homestead.  Sadly  and  sorrowing,  he  turned 
away,  and  wished  not  to  turn  back  the  pages  of  his  history  nor 
theirs,  but  felt  more  inclined  to  say,  "  '  Fly  swiftly  on,  ye  wheels 
of  time,'  and  carry  me  over  to  their  present  home."  The  Life- 
Line,  which  had  now  run  through  its  boyhood,  was  about  to  enter 
manhood,  and  run  in  a  broader  and  deeper  channel.  The  sub- 
stantial traits  of  character  were  already  formed  for  life,  and  ever 
after  bore  him  above  the  grosser  vices  of  civilization,  —  dissipa- 
tion, profanity,  vulgarity,  and  licentiousness.  Even  in  riper 
years,  when  in  the  fascinating  circles  of  social  and  political  life, 
where  others  around  him  were  led  astray,  he  was  ever  firm  to  the 
first  principles  of  character,  and  by  them  was  enabled  to  become 
a  guide  and  counsellor  for  others,  and  often,  in  public  and  private, 
to  lecture  for  temperance  and  morality,  purity  and  reform.  New 
emotions,  new  impulses,  new  desires,  new  attractions,  had  arisen 
in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  Lone  One ;  and  he  saw  the  world 
around  him  as  he  had  never  seen  it  before.  Comparing  his  own 
sad  fate  with  other  young  men,  he  wept  bitter  tears  of  sorrow  for 
his  existence,  with  powers  and  capacities  for  which  he  had  no  use, 
which  could  neither  be  used  for  his  own  or  others'  happiness. 
Then  the  wheel  of  fortune  turned  to  him  its  historic  page ;  and 
the  record  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  nearly  every  son 
of  noble  lineage,  placed  by  wealth,  family,  and  ancestry,  high  up 
the  ladder  of  life,  to  begin  a  self-sustaining  career  above  its  pov- 
erty base,  fell  to  the  bottom,  and,  if  such  ever  arose  again,  did 
it  by  individual  effort,  and  through  trials  and  struggles ;  while 
most  of  those  who  were  ever  ascending,  and  nearest  the  summit, 
arose  from  the  very  foot  of  society,  and  by  unwearying  effort 
overcame  obstacles  which  at  times  seemed  insurmountable.  Then 
the  muses,  ever  his  friends  who  could  reach  his  sensitive  heart 
with  the  spirit  of  song,  let  into  his  soul,  in  substance,  the  senti- 
ment of  the  beautiful  poem  of  Mackay  : 

"  Were  the  lonely  acorn  never  bound 
In  the  rude,  cold  grasp  of  the  rotting  ground  ; 


40  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE  ONE. 

Did  the  rigid  frost  never  harden  up 

The  mould  above  its  bursting  cup  ; 

Were  it  never  soaked  in  the  rain  and  hail, 

Or  chilled  by  the  breath  of  the  wintry  gale,  — 

It  would  not  sprout  in  the  sunshine  free, 

Or  give  the  promise  of  a  tree  ; 

It  would  not  spread  to  the  summer  air 

Its  lengthening  boughs  and  branches  fair, 

To  form  a  bower,  where,  in  starry  nights, 

Young  love  might  dream  unknown  delights  ; 

Or  stand  in  the  woods,  among  its  peers, 

Fed  by  the  dews  of  a  thousand  years. 

"  Were  never  the  dull,  unseemly  ore 
Dragged  from  the  depths  where  it  slept  of  yore  ; 
Were  it  never  cast  into  searching  flame, 
To  be  purged  of  impurity  and  shame  ; 
Were  it  never  molten  'mid  burning  brands, 
Or  bruised  and  beaten  by  stalwart  hands,  — 
It  would  never  be  known  as  a  thing  of  worth  ; 
It  would  never  emerge  to  a  noble  birth  ; 
It  would  never  be  formed  into  mystic  rings, 
To  fetter  Love's  erratic  wings  ; 
It  would  never  shine  amid  priceless  gems 
On  the  girth  of  imperial  diadems, 
Nor  become  to  the  world  a  power  and  pride 
Cherished,  adored,  and  deified. 

*  So  thou,  0  man  of  a  noble  soul, 
.starting  in  view  of  a  glorious  goal, 
Wert  thou  never  exposed  to  the  blasts  forlorn, 
The  storms  of  sorrow,  the  sleet  of  scorn  ; 
Wert  thou  never  refined,  in  pitiless  fire, 
From  the  dross  of  thy  sloth  and  mean  desire  ; 
Wert  thou  never  taught  to  feel  and  know 
That  the  truest  love  has  its  roots  in  woe,  — 
Thou  wouldst  never  unriddle  the  complex  plan, 
Or  reach  half  way  to  the  perfect  man  ; 
Thou  wouldst  never  attain  the  tranquil  height 
Where  wisdom  purifies  the  sight, 
And  God  unfolds  to  the  humblest  gaze 
The  bliss  and  beauty  of  his  ways." 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  41 

The  quiet  and  industrious  farmers  of  New  England,  who  count 
the  annual  round  of  seasons  by  seed-time  and  harvest,  have  a  dia- 
lect peculiar  to  their  section  of  the  inhabited  world,  as  every  other 
people  has.  Mixed  in  it  are  many  meaningless  words,  and  many 
good  ones  badly  accented,  and  often  inappropriately  applied ;  and 
these,  early  acquired,  are  often  retained  by  her  citizens  through 
life,  and  carried  to  other  regions,  where  they  sound  badly  to  those 
not  accustomed  to  them,  but  who  use  others  equally  or  more 
absurd.  Some  of  these  were  retained  by  the  Lone  One  through 
his  school  days,  and  through  years  of  residence  in  the  West,  and  often 
called  out  expressions  of  ridicule  from  egotistic  critics,  who  knew 
how  to  swear  by  rule,  and  eat  tobacco  by  the  pound,  —  expressions 
that  touched  keenly  his  sensitive  feelings.  "  He  murders  the 
king's  English,"  meaning  really  their  own  English,  which  was 
often  more  defective  than  his.  Even  these  were,  however,  turned 
to  good  account,  in  enabling  him  to  correct  many  erroneous  modes 
of  expression.  Profane  language  he  never  used,  for  he  did  not 
go  much  to  religious  meetings  to  learn  it ;  nor  did  he  believe  it 
more  proper  for  a  preacher  to  take  God's  name  in  vain,  or  abuse 
the  devil,  than  for  others  to  do  so. 

The  body  and  brain  had  now  attained  their  forms  and  propor- 
tions, and  exhibited  a  body  five  feet  nine  inches  long,  round  shoul- 
ders, and  stout,  muscular  form,  with  nervous-bilious  temperament; 
ardent  and  active,  keen  and  very  sensitive ;  with  a  brain  above 
average,  large,  but  not  very  large  ;  sharp  and  active  organs ; 
largest  organs,  firmness  and  caution,  —  next,  causality  and  per- 
ceptives ;  with  benevolence  large,  social  organs  large,  and  de- 
structiveness  least ;  time  and  tune,  small ;  marvellousness  small, 
and  hope  large ;  eventuality  small,  and  intuition  very  large ; 
veneration  full,  and  conscientiousness  even ;  language  large, 
ideality  and  sublimity  full.  These  gave  the  general  and  tone 
of  feeling,  and  leading  traits  of  character ;  and  as  he  was  not 
accountable  for  his  organization,  it  is  yet  to  be  determined  how 
far  he  could  be  accountable  for  his  character,  which  resulted  from 
t.  The  texture  of  brain  and  nerve  were  extremely  fine,  and 
4* 


42  LIFE-LINE   OF   TUB   LONE   ONE. 

gave  tone  and  keenness  to  his  feelings.  His  large  caution,  small 
self-esteem,  and  sensitive  nerves,  made  him  extremely  timid  in 
early  life,  and  until  a  knowledge  of  phrenology  and  his  own  brain 
enabled  him  to  overcome  it.  When  he  entered  the  academy, 
among  all  strangers,  with  book-knowledge  mostly  acquired  alone, 
evenings  and  Sundays,  this  timidity  was  felt,  and  often  extremely 
embarrassing,  of  which  one  instance  may  serve  to  illustrate  :  On 
committing  his  first  piece  for  declamation,  and  standing  before  the 
school  to  speak  it,  not  one  word  could  he  utter,  —  a  fall-grown 
man,  before  the  students,  laughed  at  by  the  whole  school '  For 
such  an  ambitious  and  timid  soul,  this  was  no  joke  to  him.  It 
was  not  long,  however,  before  he  could  occupy  his  time  and  place 
in  uttering  his  own  thoughts  in  public,  instead  of  attempting  to 
repeat  those  of  others.  He  was  soon  marked  as  one  of  the  best 
and  most  active  and  ambitious  students  of  the  school.  This  led 
to  the  inquiry  who  he  was,  and  who  and  where  his  parents  and 
family,  and  soon  brought  down  the  contempt  and  scorn  of  jealous 
rivals  on  his  sensitive  soul ;  for  they  despised  and  were  ashamed 
of  one  who  had  no  legal  right  to  be  born,  although  forced  into 
earth-life  involuntarily.  But  he  found  sympathy  and  some  warm 
friends  among  the  students,  and  no  partiality  in  the  teachers,  even 
though  he  was  an  Infidel  in  a  school  under  theological  control. 
He  was  ever  punctual,  and  obedient  to  every  rule.  Here  he 
formed  an  acquaintance  with  several  students  whose  views  were 
similar  to  his  own ;  and  here  he  found  works  of  Infidel  authors, 
as  they  were  called,  which  he  found  to  contain  more  reason,  and 
more  charity,  than  any  religious  books  he  had  ever  read.  Hero 
he  became  confirmed  in  his  religious  scepticism.  The  common 
branches  of  education  were  reviewed,  and  some  proficiency  made 
in  Latin,  when  he  left  this  school,  to  attend  one  commenced  in  his 
native  town,  where  his  history  was  better  known,  and  where  he 
deserved,  at  least,  more  sympathy.  Here  the  period  of  study  was 
short ;  for  all  the  funds  acquired  by  hard  labor  ever  since  the 
death  of  his  mother  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  would  not  allow 
him  to  continue  long  in  an  academy.  It  was  with  deep  regret 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  43 

that  he  left  the  school ;  for  his  soul  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
beauties  of  science,  and  began  to  taste  the  sweet  waters  of  litera- 
ture, and  he  yearned  for  a  feast  from  those  fountains,  but  yearned 
in  vain,  for  Poverty  had  set  her  seal  on  him.  In  that  day  it  was 
far  more  difficult  than  in  this  for  a  poor  boy  to  acquire  an  education. 
Theology  offered  to  open  the  doors,  and  educate  him  into  the  min- 
istry, if  he  would  get  religion ;  but  his  soul  abhorred  hypocrisy 
and  deception ;  and  he  did  not  believe  their  doctrines  were  true, 
and  would  not  pretend  it,  although  he  was  aware  that  many  stu- 
dents in  theological  charity  believed  as  little  as  he  did,  and  only 
accepted  it  to  obtain  an  education,  and  an  easy  way  to  obtain  a 
livelihood.  Such  a  course  he  spurned,  and  chose  rather  a  crust 
and  freedom  of  thought  with  an  honest  heart.  He  could  discover 
no  opening  to  an  education  for  him  without  sacrificing  his  honesty 
and  integrity  of  character ;  and  without  a  thorough  scientific  or 
classical  education  the  path  to  the  highest  hill-tops  of  society  was 
indeed  a  rugged  one  ;  but  History  turned  down  to  him  her  scroll 
of  fame,  and  pointed  out  this  road : 

"  If  thou  wouldst  win  a  lasting  fame, 
If  thou  the  immortal  wreath  wouldst  claim, 
And  make  the  future  bless  thy  name, 
Begin  thy  perilous  career  ; 
Keep  high  thy  heart,  thy  conscience  clear, 
And  walk  thy  way  without  a  fear  ; 
And  if  thou  hast  a  voice  within 
That  ever  whispers,  '  Work  and  win,' 
And  keeps  thy  soul  from  sloth  and  sin  ; 
If  thou  canst  plan  a  noble  deed, 
And  never  flag  till  it  succeed, 
Though  in  the  strife  thy  heart  shouldst  bleed  ; 
If  thou  canst  struggle  day  and  night, 
And,  in  the  envious  world's  despite, 
Still  keep  thy  cynosure  in  sight  ; 
If  thou  canst  bear  the  rich  man's  scorn, 
Nor  curse  the  day  that  thou  wert  bora 
To  feed  on  husks,  and  he  on  corn  ; 
If  thou  canst  dine  upon  a  crust, 


44  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

And  still  hold  on  with  patient  trust, 

Nor  pine  that  Fortune  is  unjust  ; 

If  thou  canst  see  with  tranquil  breast 

The  knave  or  fool  in  purple  drest, 

Whilst  thou  must  walk  in  tattered  vest ; 

If  thou  canst  rise  ere  break  of  day, 

And  toil  and  moil  till  evening  gray 

At  thankless  work  for  scanty  pay  ; 

If  in  thy  progress  to  renown 

Thou  canst  endure  the  scoff  and  frown 

Of  those  who  strive  to  put  thee  down  ; 

If  thou  canst  bear  the  averted  face, 

The  gibe  and  treacherous  embrace 

Of  those  who  run  the  self-same  race  ; 

If  thou  in  darkest  days  canst  find 

An  inner  brightness  in  thy  mind 

To  reconcile  thee  to  thy  kind  ;  — 

Whatever  obstacle  control, 

Thine  hour  will  come,  —  go  on,  true  soul  ! 

Thou  'It  win  the  prize,  thou  'It  reach  the  goal. 

If  not,  what  matter  ?  —  Tried  by  fire, 

And  purified  from  low  desire, 

Thy  spirit  shall  but  soar  the  higher. 

Content  and  hope  thy  heart  shall  buoy, 

And  man's  neglect  shall  ne'er  destroy 

The  inward  peace,  the  secret  joy." 

He  accepted  the  offer  and  left  the  school,  yielding  desire  to 
necessity,  and  started  on  the  road  to  fame,  as  marked  out  by  the 
poet,  although  he  often  met  those  to  whom  the  other  lines  of  the 
same  Doem  were  more  appropriate. 

"  Pause  e'er  thou  tempt  the  hard  career  ; 
Thou  'It  find  the  conflict  too  severe, 
And  heart  will  break,  and  brain  will  sear. 
Content  thee  with  an  humbler  lot ; 
Go  plough  thy  field,  go  build  thy  cot, 
Nor  sigh  that  thou  must  be  forgot." 

Buried  in  clouds,  far,  far  away,  was  the  "  tip-top  house  "  where 
fame  had  her  sentinel-guarded  citadel ;  but  thither  he  was  bound 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE  ONE.  45 

even  though  it  might  take  centuries  to  obtain  a  niche  in  it,  unless 
he  should  cease  to  exist  ere  he  reached  it;  but  this  he  feared 
would  be  his  fate  at  death. 

Full  of  hopes  and  fears,  —  about  equally  mixed,  —  he  started 
for  Boston  in  search  of  fortune,  loitered  about  hei  streets  a  few 
days,  too  timid  to  ask  often  for  employment,  and  too  bashful  to 
make  his  wants  and  situation  known  to  those  who  could  have 
aided  him.  His  mind,  however,  was  active,  gathering  shells  of 
knowledge  for  a  cabinet.  Surprised  at  the  close  proximity  of  ex- 
treme wealth  and  extreme  poverty,  ho  wondered  if  both  were 
necessary  for  the  existence  of  each,  and  finally  concluded  that  ex- 
treme wealth  could  only  exist  by  extreme  poverty,  as  some  must 
be  robbed  if  others  possessed  their  wealth.  Then  he  asked  the 
Christian  why  God  allowed  a  portion  of  his  children  to  be  robbed 
by  others,  and  the  Christian  said  it  was  a  mystery.  But  he 
thought  it  ought  to  be  revealed  in  order  for  us  to  be  reconciled  to 
it,  and  set  his  mind  to  work  out  the  mystery  which  God  would 
not  reveal  to  his  worshippers,  and  found  the  cause  in  an  aristocratic 
monopoly,  and  unjustifiable  worldly  selfishness ;  but  he  soon  saw 
the  truth  of  Shelley's  lines,  — 

' '  There  needeth  not  the  hell  that  bigots  frame 
To  punish  those  who  err  ;  earth  itself 
Contains  the  evil  and  the  cure." 

Finding  no  business,  he  went  to  Brookline,  a  few  miles  from 
Boston,  and  engaged  to  work  on  a  farm  that  was  all  a  garden,  — 
or  a  garden  that  was  large  enough  for  a  farm,  —  labored  a  few 
weeks,  and  was  taken  sick  with  pleurisy.  The  physician  told  him  to 
leave  the  coast,  as  the  sea-breezes  were  bad  for  him  to  take.  Then 
he  nearly  drained  his  little  purse  to  reach  again  his  native  town, 
and  be  laughed  at  by  the  boys,  if  not  the  girls ;  but  the  latter  ditf 
not  as  often  grate  his  feelings  with  rudeness  or  ridicule  as  the 
former. 

The  younger  brother  of  Bracket  had  married  and  opened  a  law- 
office  in  the  village  of  his  native  town,  and  was  post-master  and 


46  LIFE-LINE   OP  THE   LONE   ONE. 

partner  in  a  store  of  goods.  To  him  the  Lone  One  engaged,  to  tend 
store  and  office,  and  boarded  in  the  neat  little  home  of  Moses  the 
lawyer,  where  the  happy  life  of  Moses  and  Abby,  and  the  kind 
and  loving  heart  of  Mary,  the  sister  of  Abby,  made  social  life 
attractive,  almost  fascinating,  to  the  lone  heart  of  the  orphan. 
Not  many  months  was  he  in  this  house  before  he  found  his  heart 
involuntarily  leaning  toward  Mary  ;  for  she  was  beautiful  and 
lovely,  externally  and  internally ;  both  body  and  mind  were 
attractive.  How  could  such  a  being  fail  to  call  out  the  love  of  an 
ardent  soul,  which  was  more  than  full  ?  For  a  time  he  yielded  to 
the  delightful  emotions  of  a  pure  attraction,  and  spent  some  happy 
hours  in  her  society ;  but  she  was  his  superior  in  years  and  ex- 
perience, and  soon  began  to  check  the  wild  hopes  and  youthful 
fancies  of  his  soul,  and  turned  his  feelings  to,  and  through,  his 
intellect.  Then  he  reflected  on  his  condition  in  poverty  and  dis- 
grace ;  but  she  had  too  noble  a  soul  to  despise  him  for  his  birth ; 
but  to  live  in  poverty  and  dependence  was  too  severe  a  trial  for  her 
delicate  frame,  reared  in  tenderness  and  wealth,  in  a  seaport  town,  as 
it  was.  The  soul  of  the  Lone  One  had  been  too  much  awakened 
to  remain  and  endure  the  presence  of  one  he  loved  so  devotedly, 
and  early  in  the  spring  of  '35  he  collected  his  little  earnings, 
and  called  on  his  old  friends  to  give  a  farewell  parting  to  each, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  a  final  sitting  with  Mary.  Those  who 
know  need  not  be  told,  and  those  who  do  not,  cannot  understand, 
the  feelings  which  this  parting  produced  ;  for  now,  if  not  before, 
he  knew  she  loved  him,  and  he  long  before  knew  he  loved  her; 
and  the  chord  must  be  broken,  never  more  to  be  united.  They 
parted,  never  met  again,  nor  exchanged  one  word  by  correspond- 
ence. She  was  married  not  many  years  after  to  a  friend  of  his, 
who  was  often  called  by  the  same  name,  —  for  his  middle  name 
was  the  same  as  the  first  of  the  Lone  One,  —  and  lived  a  few 
years  with  him,  and  then  went  home  to  live  with  the  angels,  where 
more  congenial  society  for  her  refined  soul  could  be  enjoyed.  The 
tie  must  break,  but  he  felt  what  Shakspeare  wrote,  —  "A  fiend 
as  dear  as  thee  might  bear  my  soul  to  hell,"  or  Moore,  in 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  47 

"  0,  grief  beyond  all  other  griefs  !  when  fate 
First  leaves  the  young  heart  lone  and  desolate 
In  the  wide  world,  without  that  tie 
For  which  it  loved  to  live  or  feared  to  die. 
Lorn  as  the  hung-up  lute,  which  ne'er  hath  spoken 
Since  the  sad  day  its  master-chord  was  broken." 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  heart  of  the  Lone  One  will  ever,  in 
this  life,  drop  this  subject ;  but  we  will  drop  it  here,  and  ask  thee, 
reader,  if  thee  was  ever  in  New  Hampshire  in  an  election-storm, 
or  town-meeting-time?  If  not,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe 
that  either,  for  only  those  who  have  been  "  out  in  it"  can  know  how 
it  blows,  and  beats,  and  makes  the  stout  hearts  bend  as  reeds  before 
"  Mudgekeewis."  One  of  these  annual  monsoons  passed  over  New 
Hampshire  a  few  days  before  the  Lone  One  left,  and  he  was  out 
in  it,  trying,  with  others,  to  elect  his  democratic  friend,  Moses,  to 
the  legislature.  They  failed  this  time,  but  afterward  it  became 
easy  to  elect  him  even  to  Congress,  and  the  U.  S.  Senate,  where 
he  lived  and  died,  many  years  after,  with  democratic  honors,  but 
not  many  others.  The  Lone  One  soon  learned  that  Democracy 
was  more  a  name  to  elect  persons  with,  than  a  principle;  and  that 
nearly  all  political  strife  was  personal,  and  only  personal.  The 
boys,  old  and  young,  great  and  small,  in  that  state,  think  it 
requires  a  great  man  to  hold  a  seat  in  the  legislature,  and  that  to 
be  elected  is  a  great  honor ;  but  those  who  obtain  it  usually  find 
it  of  little  worth,  except  to  lengthen  the  name  by  a  prefix  of  Hon., 
but  seldom  makes  a  man  honorable.  Society  is  a  three-fold 
structure,  corresponding  to  our  houses,  with  the  social  relations 
for  the  basis,  or  foundation,  cemented  with  love  in  marriage,  — 
when  there  is  any  in  it,  —  and  with  the  political  relations  for  the 
frame,  finished  and  braced  with  officers,  and  with  the  covering,  or 
third  part,  of  religion,  nailed  with  rusty  preachers,  or  bright  and 
new  ones,  and  sometimes  painted  with  creeds,  red  with  the  fire  of 
a  pit,  or  black  with  eternal  doom,  or  white  with  universal  sal- 
vation, or  yellow  with  hope,  etc.  The  three  are  all  essential  to 
man,  and  hence  we  must  not  repudiate  even  politics  ;  for  society 


48  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

would  fall  without  them.     Perhaps  we  can  improve  the  old  mod 
of  framing  and  raising,  but  cannot  dispense  with  it.     Moralit 
is  an  ingredient,  or  should  be,  in  society,  and  in  each  part ;  and  is 
what  the  finish  is  to  the  house,  or  texture  to  the  body  and  brain 
of  man.     It  is  rather  scarce  in  our  day  in  either  department, 
especially  in  politics,  but  may  be  cultivated  even  there. 

The  heart  of  the  Lone  One  was  already  yearning  for  the  love  and 
sympathy  of  a  happy  home  and  social  life,  and  his  ambitious  mind 
was  aspiring  to  and  for  political  action,  and  his  religious  nature 
was  already  feasting  on  Rationalism,  the  best  religion  he  could 
find  in  that  country.  The  Boston  Investigator  was  his  religious 
paper  and  guide,  and  one  of  the  best  for  a  young  mind ;  for  it 
teaches  a  reader  to  think,  and  develops  intellect,  which,  in  riper 
years,  will  be  able  to  discover  its  errors. 

SECTION   II. 

FLED. 

The  last  days  and  sad  hours  spent  in  his  native  town  at  length 
passed  by,  and  the  tears  ceased  for  a  time  to  drop  from  the  eyes 
of  the  few  whose  swollen  hearts  pressed  them  out.  The  coach 
came  rattling  up  to  the  door,  and  the  passenger  entered,  bound  for 
the  West,  over  hill,  and  vale,  and  river,  and  mountain,  —  green  as 
name,  or  April,  could  make  them,  towards  the  old  Dutch  city  of 
Albany.  In  his  memory,  well  stored  away,  as  in  a  picture- 
gallery,  were  faces  and  forms  to  be  recalled  in  the  far-distant 
land ;  and  hills,  and  valleys,  and  houses,  with  scenes  of  sorrow 
and  joy,  all  arranged  in  order  for  examination  and  review  ;  sun- 
dered ties,  and  broken  strings,  arrows  from  hearts,  and  lutes 
without  strings. 

"  Where'er  a  human  heart  doth  wear 
Joy's  myrtle-wreath  or  Sorrow's  gyves. 
Where'er  a  human  spirit  strives 
After  a  life  more  true  and  fair, 
There  is  the  true  man's  birth-place  grant, 
His  is  a  world-wide  faderland." 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  49 

The  Albany  city  was  duly  reached  by  the  "  post  coach  "  from  the 
Green  Mountain  state,  and  every  familiar  face  was  left  behind  by 
the  Lone  One,  —  all  save  the  likenesses  as  they  were  taken  in  joy 
or  sorrow  on  the  memory-plate.  Here  he  soon  found  the  water- 
path  westward,  and  "  ticketed  through  "  to  the  west  end  of  the 
Clinton  Ditch,  and  had  a  quiet  week  or  more  on  canal-boat 
in  reaching  Buffalo.  O,  what  a  crowd,  and  city,  and  bustle,  and 
confusion  !  No  chance  here  for  a  raw  Yankee,  who  had  no  money 
to  speculate  on.  Therefore  he  took  a  steamboat  passage  as  far  as 
steamboats  run  to  the  west,  and  landed  with  a  crowd  of  passen- 
gers at  Detroit.  Here,  too,  was  crowd,  and  bustle,  and  still 
poorer  chance  for  a  Yankee.  Here  he  found  a  schooner  loading 
for  Green  Bay,  and  tried  to  get  a  passage,  but  his  money  was  too 
short ;  he  was  therefore  compelled  to  stop,  but  was  now  far  from 
every  relative  and  old  friend,  and  ready  to  make  new  friends. 
After  seeking  business  about  the  city  for  a  few  days,  he  took  pas- 
sage on  the  little  boat,  and  landed  on  the  River  Raisin,  at  Mon- 
roe, and  there  sought  a  quiet  family  to  board  with,  and  sought 
work,  of  almost  any  kind,  to  pay  it.  After  entirely  exhausting  his 
money,  he  at  length  found  a  place  and  wages  in  the  variety  store 
of  the  "  red-coat  man,"  whose  fun  and  mirth  and  jolly  soul 
did  the  heart  of  the  Lone  One  good  every  day ;  for  he  was  a 
'  heap  "  of  fun,  running  over  upon  all  around  him,  and  as  full  of 
business  as  he  was  of  fun.  He  had  now  found  employment  and 
rest  for  his  anxious  mind,  and  sat  down  to  write  the  history  of  his 
journey,  of  which  the  eight  days  on  canal  reads  somewhat  in  this 
wise  :  "  Quartered  in  the  cabin,  well  filled  with  emigrants  west- 
ward bound  —  occupied  with  passing  events,  and  events  that 
were  passing  —  on  deck  gazing  at  the  moon,  stars,  or  '  lower 
things  '  —  the  mountain  tops,  '  low  bridge,'  or  ragged  rocks.  Sit- 
ting in  the  cabin,  early  or  late,  chatting  with  a  red-haired 
passenger,  less  in  years  than  himself,  and  of  the  other  sex,  trying 
to  forget  the  past.  But  this  one  was  a  Mary,  also,  and  too  often 
recalled  one  he  would,  but  could  not,  forget.  Sleeping  in  the 
cosey  berth,  as  the  horses  towed  him  along  the  '  raging  canal.' 
5 


50  LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE    ONE. 

At  length  the  locks  were  lifted,  the  flats  pas?ed,  death  by  mos- 
quitos  escaped,  —  the  long  level  shortened,  the  red-haired  girl 
landed,  and  Buffalo  in  sight.  "  What  was  next  to  be  done,  was  next 
to  be  planned.''  The  Yankee  boy  was  now  in  the  far  West;  for  Mich- 
igan was  then  Michigan  Territory,  and  full  of  speculators  and  land- 
hunters,  and  the  best  school  to  study  the  speculating  side  of 
humanity  that  the  nation  offered  to  a  student.  The  honest  heart 
of  the  Lone  One  was  often  shocked  at  the  stories  of  immigrants 
and  emigrants,  —  for  both  were  in  Detroit,  —  some  reporting 
land  covered  with  rattle-snakes  sufficient  to  fence  with  picket 
fences  into  ten-acre  lots,  and  others  saying  it  was  almost  a  garden 
of  Eden,  full  of  fruits  and  flowers ;  some  cursing  and  shaking 
with  ague :  one  the  effect  of  exposure  and  bad  food  and  drink,  and 
the  other  of  tobacco  and  bad  habits.  Never  was  there  a  deeper- 
seated  home-sickness  than  had  now  possession  of  the  Lone  One  ; 
and,  although  he  had  left  no  home,  and  had  none  to  return  to, 

jet, 

"0,  never  can  there  be  to  man  an  earth 
So  green,  or  sky  so  pure,  or  stranger  hearth 
So  welcome,  and  so  warm  and  bright, 
As  where  his  boyhood's  years  fled  by  !  " 

The  Lone  One  was  now  fully  resolved  to  once  more  return  to 
his  rocky  native  state,  which  was  also  the  native  state  of  the  red- 
coat man,  as  soon  as  his  wages  would  enable  him  to  do  so.  The 
River  Raisin  is  wide,  rapid,  shallow,  and  beautiful,  at  this  place. 
For  many  years  the  banks  had  been  settled  and  cultivated  by  the 
Canadian  French,  who  were  quietly  smoking  the  domestic  to- 
bacco, and  eating  their  cabbages  and  sturgeon,  before  the  Yankees 
started  a  city  and  smoked  out  the  old  settlers,  or  bought  them  out 
by,  or  with,  whiskey  and  cheat.  The  new  settlers  were  often  mo- 
lested by  ague  and  fever,  and  occasionally  by  cholera  ;  and  some 
were  driven  back  East,  and  some  over  Jordan,  by  these  enemies  to 
quiet  and  speculation.  During  this  season  the  Toledo  war  raged 
in  all  its  violence,  and  Monroe  was  the  head-quarters  for  the 
armies  of  Michigan  and  mosquitos.  Those  who  have  never  read 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  51 

the  history  of  this  war  need  not  look  for  it  here ;  for  our  narrative 
will  only  admit  of  a  few  allusions  to  important  facts,  such  as  the 
whole  number  killed  in  the  war  was,  one  horse,  and  all  the  hens, 
and  turke}-s,  and  bees,  and  most  of  the  pigs,  between  Monroe  and 
Toledo,  and  an  equal  or  greater  number  in  Ohio,  by  the  Buckeye 
army.  The  Lone  One  was  sent  for,  but  could  not  go,  for  his  soul 
abhorred  wars,  and  this  ridiculous  furce  more  than  any  other. 
The  red-coat  man  did  go,  but  only  for  fun,  with  a  red  coat  and 
tin  gun,  to  make  joke-music  for  the  crowd  ;  for  he  could  do  it. 

"  0  !  who  would  fight,  and  march,  and  countermarch, 
Be  shot  for  sixpence  in  a  battle-field, 
And  shovelled  up  into  a  bloody  trench, 
Where  no  one  knows  —  and  all  for  fame  ? 
Not  I  !  " 

There  was  an  end  to  this  war,  although  no  historian  has  ever 
recorded  it,  and  this  narrative  does  not  contain  it ;  for  the  Lone 
One  did  not  have  hold  at  either  end  nor  middle.  The  bush  end 
was,  however,  supposed  to  be  among  the  tax-payers  some  years 
after  peace  was  restored,  not  declared,  for  it  never  was  declared. 
Once  only  had  the  Orphan  been  made  to  follow  a  man  in  "  cap 
and  feathers,"  with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder,  at  a  training,  and  that  at 
sixteen  ;  and  this  he  resolved  should  be  the  sum  of  his  military 
experience,  even  if  it  cost  imprisonment ;  for  both  conscience  and 
reason  rebelled  against  the  farce  of  training,  and  the  cruelties  of 
war.  Governor  Lucas,  of  Ohio,  and  Governor  Stevens  T.  Mason, 
of  Michigan,  were  the  two  great  powers  who  won  the  immortal 
honors  in  this  war,  which  has  been  equalled  only  once  in  our  coun- 
try, in  the  "  War  of  the  Gauges,"  the  seat  of  which  was  at  Erie, 
Pennsylvania,  through  which  the  Lone  One  also  passed  with  about 
the  same  dangers  and  glories  as  in  the  other,  though  somewhat 
later  in  the  history  of  the  wars  of  Ohio,  These  wars  were  like 
the  Chian  wine,  "  flavored  unto  him  who  drinketh  it,"  but  had  not 
much  pleasant  flavor  to  others,  and  even  to  them  who  drank,  like 
other  wine,  they  caused  a  severe  hair-pulling  afterward. 


52  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONB  ONE. 

SECTION    III. 

NEAR    JORDAN. 

The  summer-greens,  which  constituted  the  principal  fruit  and 
shade-tree  vegetation  of  the  region  round  about  Monroe,  were 
fading  into  autumn-brown,  or  had  already  cast  off  their  foliage, 
to  scud  in  the  winds,  under  "  bare  poles,"  during  winter,  when  the 
Lone  One  began  to  count  up  his  wages,  and  feel  that  he  could  once 
more  return  to  the  land  of  his  childhood  and  hardships  ere  the 
close  of  navigation ;  for,  after  the  lake  and  canal  boats  stopped 
running,  there  would  be  no  chance  till  spring  should  again  unlock 
the  ice-bound  shores ;  but  "  there  is  a  power  that  shapes  us  to  our 
ends,"  and  lays  the  lines  of  human  life  that  lead  us  to  our  goals. 
Down  came  the  blow  of  fate's  great  hammer,  and  a  fever,  hot  and 
cold,  wrapped  the  body  of  the  Lone  One  alternately  in  a  cold  and 
hot  "  pack,"  till  he  sank,  sank,  sank,  to  the  struggle  with  life  and 
death,  and  with  the  old  catholic  physician,  who  had  not  much  inter- 
est, but  some  anxiety,  in  the  pending  fate.  Now  came  a  time  when 
he  needed  not  only  care  and  attention,  but  love  and  sympathy ; 
for  his  excitable  soul  could  only  be  holden  to  earth  and  to  his 
body  by  the  magnetic  power  of  a  kindred  soul ;  and  this  he  found 
and  received  from  the  sister  of  the  red-coat  man,  with  whom  he 
boarded.  She  was  mated,  and  lived  pleasantly,  without  wealth 
or  luxury,  and  furnished  a  quiet  home  for  her  brother  and  his 
clerks.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  the  Lone  One  discovered  the 
affectionate  nature,  the  kind  heart,  the  loving  soul,  of  the  sis- 
ter; for  she  saved  him,  when  the  doctor  could  not,  by  the  magnetic 
power  of  her  ardent  soul.  Slowly  the  recuperative  energies  of 
his  body  revived  and  renewed  his  hold  on  life;  and,  with  the  aid 
from  others,  he  recovered,  late  in  autumn,  sufficient  strength  to  get 
back  to  the  store,  and  shake  with  ague,  and  burn  with  fever,  on 
each  alternate  day,  for  a  few  weeks,  until  he  learned  the  nature  of 
this  loathsome  disease,  which  of  all  diseases  of  our  Western  States 
plays  upon  our  hopes  and  fears  most  carelessly,  and  ever  leaves  ufl 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  53 

more  discouraged  at  each  turn  of  its  chill-tide.  Gloomy,  indeed, 
was  the  prospect ;  his  wages  were  used  up,  and  he  was  iu  debt  for 
"  medicine  and  attendance,"  and  winter  had  come,  and,  worse  still, 
the  ague  had  come,  to  hold  him  down  from  a  recovery  of  health 
and  strength.  Surry  and  sad  was  the  heart  of  the  orphan  in  this 
gloom  of  prospects;  but  the  pleasant  smile  and  kind  words  of  the 
sister  and  her  husband  (for  he  was  a  kind  man)  often  touched  and 
encouraged  him,  and  the  jokes  and  fun  of  the  red-coat  brother 
would  sometimes  almost  make  a  pious  man  laugh,  or  a  Quaker 
forget  hi.-j  gravity.  Thus  he  lived  into  winter,  outgrew  the  ague, 
and  again  engaged,  at  low  wages,  once  more  to  try  and  pay  the 
debts,  and  procure  means  to  return  to  New  Hampshire.  Those, 
and  those  only,  who  have  taken  a  course  of  ague  and  fever,  can 
realize  how  it  makes  a  live  person  feel.  How  it  provokes  one  to 
wish  the  "  Old  Nick  "  would  take  hold  and  shake  the  body  to  pieces 
at  once.  How  it  makes  one  hate  to  live  in  it,  and  feel  too  mean 
to  die  with  it.  This  i.s  probably  the  reason  so  few  do  die  with  it. 
When  the  spring  of  '30  came,  and  one  year's  experience  in  the 
West  was  summed  up,  it  read  about  thus  :  No  money  gained  ;  hard 
battle  with  chill  fever,  and  acclimated  by  ague  ;  lived  through  one 
war ;  found  one  affectionate  woman,  with  a  heart  and  soul  worthy 
a  better  country  and  society ;  but,  like  every  person  with  whom 
he  had  found  true  charity,  or  real  sympathy  of  soul  (except  Mary), 
she  was  not  a  professor  of  religion.  Thus  his  experience  continued 
to  pr^pve  that  professed  Christians  were  not  better  than  others,  if 
as  good  ;  confirming  what  infidel  writers  had  written  on  this  subject, 
and  more  firmly  convincing  him  that  religion  was  only  a  shell, 
covering  a  rotten  system  of  creeds  and  pretences. 

When  the  May  roses  began  to  blossom,  the  restless  and  unhappy 
spirit  resolved  to  make  one  more  effort  to  better  his  condition 
and  obtain  money  to  return,  cf  which  he  had  not  enough,  and 
feared  he  never  should  have,  when  the  demands  of  sickness  and 
raiment  were  taken  from  his  earnings.  A  prospect  of  higher  wages 
induced  him  to  start  south,  even  in  that  unfavorable  season  of  year, 
which  would  really  endanger  his  life.  The  boat  took  him  to 


51  LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

Cleveland,  and  the  stnge  to  Beaver,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  river 
boat  to  Cincinnati,  where,  with  some  letters  of  introduction,  he 
sought  employment,  but  in  vain.  Diffident,  even  timid,  and  almost 
entirely  unacquainted  with  western  business  life,  he  failed,  as 
nineteen  in  every  twenty  would  under  such  circumstances,  to  find 
employment,  and  made  one  more  move,  to  Louisville,  Kentucky. 
Fed  at  a  hotel,  and  engaged  an  old  man  in  an  intelligence  office  to 
get  him  a  place.  The  old  man  gave  him  good  advice,  and  much 
caution  against  the  vices  which  ruin  so  many  young  men  in  the 
South  and  West.  Although  it  was  not  needed  by  the  orphan,  it  was 
kindly  received  and  duly  appreciated,  while  what  he  needed  more 
for  his  money  was  never  obtained.  Somebody  always  stepped  in 
before  him,  and  the  old  man's  fair  prospects  and  encouraging 
promises  all  ended  in  disappointment,  and  so  did  all  other  efforts, 
until  the  Lone  One,  almost  distracted  with  his  condition,  entirely 
friendless,  nearly  penniless,  and  too  sensitive  to  make  his  condition 
known,  and  accept  some  service  to  pay  his  board,  finally  resolved 
to  return,  but  how,  he  could  not  devise.  His  trunk,  with  his  all, 
scanty  as  it  was,  he  could  not  carry,  and  did  not  think  he  could 
part  with  his  books  and  few  remaining  clothes,  and  take  the  foot- 
path to  Monroe.  He  found  he  could  pay  his  bill  at  the  hotel,  and 
a  deck  fare  on  a  boat  to  Portsmouth,  where  a  canal  from  Cleve- 
land lets  down  its  boats  to  the  Ohio.  This  was  soon  resolved  upon, 
and  he  was  moving  up  the  river  moneyless  and  supperless,  with 
no  prospects  of  a  change  in  his  favor  by  which  he  could  go  further, 
or  get  food  and  lodging ;  but  he  had  looked  hunger  in  the  face 
before,  and  once  almost  stared  him  out  of  countenance,  and  thought 
he  could  do  it  again  rather  than  beg.  To  work  he  was  willing,  but 
to  beg  he  was  not,  for  he  had  health  and  strength,  and  in  such  a 
country  as  ours  these  ought  always  to  supply  our  wants,  but  they 
often  fail.  He  reached  Portsmouth,  and  found  a  boat  ready  to 
start  for  Cleveland  on  the  canal ;  and  on  board  he  went  and  en 
gaged  a  passage  with  board,  and  thus  procured  food,  for  his  body 
was  now  suffering  for  want  of  its  aliment.  The  next  great  ques- 
tion was  how  to  pay.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  find  he  was  not 


LIFE-LINE    OF    THE    LONE    ONE.  Jv 

required  to  pay  in  advance.  There  were  several  passengers*  on 
board,  and  he  brought  out  some  of  his  school-books,  and  tried  in 
vain  to  sell  some  of  them.  That  was  "  no  go ;  "  had  they  been  nov- 
els, or  trash  of  the  yellow-cover  stripe,  no  doubt  he  would  have 
been  more  successful.  What  next  ?  He  had  no  clothes  worth  offer- 
ing or  to  spare,  but  he  tried  next  to  sell  his  best  coat ;  but  it  was 
an  "  old  coat,"  and  would  not  bring  any  money.  One  or  two  offered 
to  swap  with  him  for  boot,  so  he  could  have  a  better  one.  No 
relief;  and  the  day  passed,  and  early  bedtime  found  him  weeping 
in  his  berth.  Sleepless  through  the  night  he  lay,  turning  in  body 
and  mind,  reviewing  himself  and  all  his  past  life,  and  wondering 
what  sin  he  had  committed  to  merit  this  punishment.  Almost 
resolved  to  go  out  and  full  in  the  canal,  and  try  to  escape  from  the 
miserable  existence  which  his  parents  or  God  had  forced  upon 
him.  But  his  soul  shuddered  at  the  thought  of  self-murder,  as 
it  ever  had  at  every  species  of  crime.  How  could  he  believe 
there  was  a  God  ?  or,  if  there  was,  that  It  was  a  good  God  ? 
Especially,  if  it  was  God  who  killed  his  mother  and  now  al- 
lowed her  poor  orphan  child  to  suffer  in  this  way,  certainly  he 
could  not  be  good.  Perhaps  he  was  offended  because  the  boy  did 
not  pray  for,  and  supplicate  favors  and  aid  ;  but  he  never  knew  an 
instance  of  God  feeding  a  hungry  person  by  being  asked  to  do  so 
in  prayer,  and  he  had  no  confidence  to  ask  God  for  money  to  pay 
his  passage.  He  would  have  been  ashamed  to  ask  a  fellow-mortal, 
and  more  so  to  ask  God.  There  was  no  hope  for  help  in  that 
direction,  nor  could  he  see  any  in  any  other.  The  long  sleepless 
night  at  length  came  to  an  end,  and  he  was  early  up  to  meet  the 
faces  of  all  strangers,  as  the  day  before ;  but,  when  they  crept  out 
of  their  berths,  behold,  one  familiar  face  came  out ;  a  young  man 
whom  he  had  seen  at  Monroe  had  come  on  board  in  the  night  at 
some  landing-place,  and  crawled,  unobserved  by  the  sleepless  orphan, 
into  a  berth.  Had  he  seen  him,  he  might  have  slept  some,  or,  at 
least,  found  a  new  subject  for  reflection.  The  next  difficulty  was 
how  to  approach  the  young  man  with  his  case,  and  try  to  obtain 
relief;  for  his  acquaintance  was  very  limited,  being  barely  sufu- 


56  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

cient  for  recognition.  The  Lone  One  lost  no  time  in  securing  such 
items  as  would  free  his  mind  from  doubts  and  lears.  First  he  learned 
that  the  young  man  was  bound  for  Monroe;  this  produced  a  thrill 
of  joy  which  only  those  who  know  the  importance  of  such  little 
circumstances  at  times  of  trial,  and  whose  souls  are  keen  and  sens- 
itive, can  know.  A  wave  of  joy  ran  over  the  nerves  of  the  orphan 
at  this  news.  After  much  ceremony,  many  delays,  and  several 
unsuccessful  attempts,  like  a  timid  lover  at  question-popping  time, 
he  at  last  succeeded  in  asking  for  money  enough  to  pay  his  fare  to 
Monroe  on  the  canal  and  lake  boats,  and  promised  to  repay  it  on 
arrival,  for  he  was  sure  he  could  borrow  it  there.  His  heart 
leaped  for  joy,  and  the  tears  filled  his  eyes,  until  he  was  ashamed 
of  his  weakness,  when  the  almost  stranger  took  out  his  money,  and 
handed  him  all  he  asked  for,  and  offered  more  if  he  needed  it. 
The  confidence  and  kindness  of  this  young  man  touched  a  tender 
chord  in  his  feelings,  that  had  seldom  been  vibrated  in  the  music 
of  life ;  the  mournful  notes  were  silenced,  and  hope  beamed  on 
his  countenance  once  more.  Until  we  sink  into  deep  distress  and 
suffering  we  can  never  know  how  much  joy  some  little  favor,  at 
particular  times,  can  afford  us ;  then  we  duly  appreciate  kindness, 
and  learn  important  lessons  for  life,  and  often  learn  how  to  mako 
others  happy.  It  was  not  long  after  our  sorry  orphan  had  reached 
Monroe,  and  borrowed  the  money  of  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  the  red- 
coat man,  and  repaid  it  to  the  passenger  with  more  thankfulness 
than  he  could  express  in  words,  that  he  found  out  that  this 
young  man,  who  was  intelligent,  moral,  honest,  and  consistent,  in 
his  life  and  actions,  was,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Christians,  a 
notorious  infidel,  and  the  son  of  infidel  parents,  —  that  the  family 
never  attended  church,  nor  paid  the  preacher.  This  made  another 
item  in  the  experience  of  the  Lone  One. 

A  few  friends  seemed  glad  at  his  return,  but  none  welcomed 
him  more  cordially  than  the  sister  and  her  husband.  He  soon 
procured  employment  as  clerk  in  the  post-office,  and  began  once 
more  to  try  the  up-hill  of  life  in  a  journey  after  money ;  for  he 
found  himself  in  a  world  of  mostly  Yahoos,  where 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE  LONE    ONE.  57 

"  Gold  is  the  god  the  Yahoos  adore  ; 

There  no  man  's  criminal  unless  he  's  poor." 

There  are  said  to  be  times,  in  the  history  of  men,  when  the  boy 
BOWS  his  wild  oats ;  being  a  sort  of  reckless  time  for  scattering 
moral,  and  all  other  qualities  of  actions  broad-cast.  This  may  be 
as  applicable  to  states,  territories,  and  communities,  as  to  persons. 
Michigan  was  sowing  her  wild  oats  in  the  years  which  were  run- 
ning through  the  great  year-glass  when  these  incidents  occurred, 
the  most  prolific  crop  of  which  came  up  and  were  harvested  in 
wild-cat  notes  some  time  after.  The  population  consisted  mainly 
of  land  speculators  and  fortune-seekers,  which  pursuits  in  them- 
selves would  not  make  persons  bad  ;  but  the  constant  commotion, 
fluctuating  prospects,  and  varied  vicissitudes,  of  those  times,  brought 
out  to  the  surface,  as  a  warm  pack  does  the  measles,  the  worst 
features  in  the  population.  Michigan  was  then  a  hard  state,  or 
territory,  for  it  is  not  yet  certain  when  she  became  a  state ;  for 
this  was  a  year  of  two  governments,  or  one,  or  none ;  and  the 
people  could  not  determine  which,  neither  can  history.  Only  a 
few  months  of  quiet  business  in  this  department,  and  another 
change  of  occupation,  although  he  had  heard  it  said  "  a  rolling 
stone  gathers  no  moss."  Shrewd  business  men  in  Michigan,  who 
watched  the  passing  events,  knew  that  breakers  were  ahead,  and 
the  red-coat  man  was  of  that  kind ;  and  when  the  autumn 
glided  into  winter  a  new  firm  occupied  the  old  store,  and  tried 
to  sell  the  remnants  of  everything;  for  the  old  variety-shop 
contained  all  sorts  of  traps,  from  ox-yokes  to  little  pills  of 
Nux  put  up  in  homo30pathic  bottles.  One  of  the  new  firm  soon 
sold  to  the  Lone  One.  Poor  as  he  was,  his  credit  was  good,  be- 
cause his  habits  were  good,  and  his  word  reliable ;  but  at  this 
time  such  credit  did  not  prove  an  advantage,  for  it  gave,  in  the 
change,  promises  of  better  days,  and  brought  darker  and  harder 
trials  than  ever  before,  in  consequence  of  changes  which  had  their 
origin  in  this  misstep  in  business.  He  had  not  learned  the  neces- 
sity, every  young  man  without  pecuniary  means  was  under,  of 


58  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

securing  first  some  money  before  he  assumes  debts  and  liabilities 
or  social  responsibilities  requiring  money  in  greater  or  less  abun- 
dance. But  he  was  now  in  a  fair  way  to  learn  it  by  experience, 
which  would  doubtless  make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression.  The 
young  merchants  were  not  elated,  but  resolved  on  the  strictest 
economy  and  close  application  to  business,  which  in  ordinary 
times  would  have  enabled  them  to  sustain  themselves  even  with- 
out the  capital,  as  they  had  long  credit  and  low  interest,  neither 
of  which  were  common  in  that  country  at  that  time.  The  desire 
to  return  East  had  expired,  burned  itself  out,  and  the  Lone  One 
now  resolved  to  make  the  West  his  future  home  ;  and,  indeed,  he 
might  as  well,  for  Mary  was  married,  or  engaged  to  be  soon,  and 
he  had  no  relatives,  east  or  west,  who  felt  any  interest  in  his 
whereabouts,  save  as  they  did  in  other  persons  who  were  not  akin  ; 
or  rather  only  two  or  three  females,  who  could  not  aid  him,  except 
by  sympathy.  Of  these  was  one  fair-haired  cousin,  whose  sym- 
pathy he  could  not  receive,  because  in  him  it  produced  love  in 
return,  which  she  could  not  receive  ;  and  he  had  now  resolved  to 
break  every  tie  to  New  Hampshire  in  his  feelings,  and  harden  all 
but  his  conscience  for  western  life.  That  he  never  could  harden, 
for  it  was  master  over  him,  although  it  might  have  been  a  creat- 
ure of  education,  as  some  people  say  it  is.  His  home  was  with 
the  kind  sister  of  the  red-coat  man,  for  certainly  he  would  never 
board  at  any  other  place  while  she  would  feed  him  at  her  table, 
where  kind  words  were  only  in  correspondence  with  the  neatness 
and  order  and  excellent  selections  of  food  and  dishes.  She  was  a 
native  of  New  Hampshire,  and  had  an  attractive  old  homestead 
there,  and  many  kind  friends,  and  relatives  almost  without  number; 
and  in  this  autumn  of  '36  she  repaired 'thither  for  a  visit,  leaving 
the  Lone  One  to  take  care  of  the  house  and  girls,  &c.  Of  this 
visit  it  may  be  said  "  thereby  hangs  a  tale "  which  requires  a 
rest ;  so  we  will  stop  over  here. 

"  Hands  of  invisible  spirits  touch  the  strings 
Of  that  invisible  instrument,  the  soul, 
And  play  the  prelude  of  our  fate." 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  59 


SECTION  IY. 

ANOTHER    LIN7E. 

"  I  saw  two  clouds  at  morning 

Tinged  by  the  rising  sun  ; 
And  in  the  dawn  they  floated  on, 

And  mingled  into  one  ; 
I  thought  that  morning  cloud  was  blest, 
It  moved  so  sweetly  to  the  west. 

"  I  saw  two  summer  currents 

Flow  smoothly  to  their  meeting, 
And  join  their  course  with  silent  force, 

In  peace  each  other  greeting  ; 
Calm  was  their  course  through  banks  of  green, 
While  dimpling  eddies  played  between. 

"  Such  be  your  gentle  motion, 

Till  life's  last  pulse  shall  beat  ! 
Like  summer's  beam  and  summer's  stream, 

Float  on,  in  joy,  to  meet 
In  calmer  sea,  where  storms  shall  cease  — 
In  purer  sky,  where  all  is  peace." 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Granite  State  is  a  small  district  called 
Sullivan  County.  Two  hundred  years  ago  it  was  a  dense  forest 
of  evergreens,  with  subsoil  rich  in  granite  boulders  and  sand.  Now 
it  comprises  some  of  the  best  farms  in  the  state,  and  several  beau- 
tiful villages,  with  long  rows  of  summer-green  shade-trees,  fine 
gardens,  capacious  dwellings,  and  plenty  of  churches  and  school- 
houses.  On  one  of  these  farms,  high  up  on  the  hill-side,  lived 
Enoch  and  Betsey,  and  reared  a  family  of  boys  and  girls  by 
unceasing  toil  and  rigid  economy;  for  only  by  such  could  a 
family  live  on  such  a  farm,  and  improve  it,  until,  like  this  one,  it 
became  a  valuable  old  homestead.  Many,  many  years  ago  there 
lived  in  England  a  man  whose  occupation  was  thatching,  and  they 
called  him  John,  or  William  the  Thatcher.  He  took  to  himself  a 
wife,  and  they  had  little  thatchers.  These  grew  up,  and  did  like- 
wise. The  friends  dropped  the,  and  thus,  like  many  other  family 


60  LIFE- LINE    OF    THE    LONE    ONE. 

names,  began  the  Thatcher  family,  which  has  branched  out  and 
multiplied  exceedingly;  one  line  of  which  ran  so  close  to  the  house 
of  Enoch,  that  the  farms  and  families  joined,  and  the  kindred 
currents  of  blood  connected  the  families  as  the  brooks  did  the 
farms.  Hand  in  hand,  and  side  by  side,  the  two  families  struggled 
through  years,  with  rocks  too  vast  for  "  Ajax'  throw,"  and  snow- 
drifts deep  enough  for  an  Esquimaux  deu  such  as  Dr.  Kane 
describes  in  his  Arctic  expedition.  The  father  of  Enoch  had 
nearly  worn  out  his  body  on  the  farm  before  he  transferred  it  to 
his  son  and  Betsey,  and  quietly  resigned  his  body  and  deaconship 
to  rest,  after  a  long  life  of  toil.  Then  his  spirit  went  home  to 
its  heaven  of  kindred  souls,  for  he  was  a  good  man.  Enoch 
was  a  man  of  industry,  economy,  and  practical  piety,  but  was 
never  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  a  church  creed.  He  trusted 
God  to  judge  him  by  his  life,  without  a  priest  to  plead  for  him 
as  a  member  of  a  church ;  and,  as  we  learn  from  the  spirit-world, 
to  which  he  moved  in  ripened  years  and  extreme  old  age,  he  foand 
as  warm  a  welcome  and  good  friends  there  as  those  who  spent 
much  of  life  in  building  churches  and  supporting  preachers,  and 
progresses  much  faster  there  than  the  creed-bound  souls.  Betsey, 
who  was  closely  linked  to  the  Thatcher  family,  but  not  in  name, 
was  more  closely  entwined  in  the  religion  of  a  church,  and  securely 
locked  in  the  Baptist  fold  of  close  communion  notoriety ;  but  she 
was  one  of  the  best  of  New  England's  wives  and  mothers,  and  a 
conscientious  and  exemplary  Christian,  and  would  have  been  as 
sure  of  heaven  (if  there  is  a  heaven  for  the  good),  if  there  had 
never  been  a  church  in  the  nation,  as  she  is  with  all  her  church 
connections.  She  still  lingers  at  the  old  homestead,  familiar  with 
its  growth  and  changes  through  more  than  half  a  century. 
Enoch  and  Betsey  reared  to  man  and  womanhood  two  sons  and 
three  daughters,  and  let  several  others  drop  into  the  arms  of 
angels,  to  be  reared  under  the  guidance  and  direction  of  spirits  in 
the  other  country,  where  so  many  little  children  go  to  get  their 
education,  and  growth,  and  religion  ;  whether  under  more  favora- 
ble circumstances  than  in  this  is  not  certainly  known,  but  by 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  61 

many  believed  to  be  so.  The  elder  son  served  out  his  time  on 
the  homestead  farm,  with  much  sickness  arising  from  the  bite  of  a 
mad  fox  ;  then  married  a  religious  wife  of  excellent  disposition, 
and  with  her,  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  his  native  home,  travelled 
some,  and  traded  more,  till  he  had  a  homestead  of  his  own,  and 
with  his  mate  reared  a  large  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  The 
sons,  with  much  business  talent  and  well  adapted  to  speculation  in 
the  West,  repaired  thither  to  get  rich,  but  with  no  religious  tend- 
encies, and  little  mental,  intellectual,  or  spiritual  development, 
in  or  for  other  departments  of  life.  The  daughters  grew  to  a 
goodly  stature  in  body  and  mind,  and  would  have  been  fine  speci- 
mens of  Yankee  girls,  had  not  the  natural  powers  and  elasticity 
of  their  minds  been  cramped  by  the  theology  of  the  school  where 
they  completed  their  education,  and  by  the  still  more  narrow 
creed  and  di.-cipline  of  the  church  at  home,  into  which  they  were 
pressed.  The  father  stemmed  the  current  of  superstition  until 
about  the  middle  of  life,  when  he  was  caught  by  an  epidemic 
revival  and  locked  in  the  Baptist  fold,  and,  with  a  zeal  and  devo- 
tion worthy  a  better  cause,  lost  his  labor  in  his  efforts  to  convert 
sinners.  But  he  is  still  stout  for  the  fight ;  has  on  the  whole 
armor  of  the  church,  and  is  zealously  aiding  to  roll  on  the  secta- 
rian car  over  "  Jordan's  hard  road  to  travel  on."  The  other  son 
was  the  red-coat  man  of  the  River  llaisin,  whose  peculiar 
genius  led  him  early  from  home,  to  roam  and  speculate,  and  get 
rich  two  or  three  times  in  life,  and  to  get  into,  and  out  of,  religion, 
and  almost  everything  else,  several  times.  His  narrative-path,  on 
land  and  sea,  high  and  low,  up  and  down,  to  his  present  home,  on 
the  west  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  at  his  own  little  village,  where  a  large 
house,  full  of  wife  and  babies,  is  the  home  of  all  who  come  to  it, 
would  be  highly  interesting ;  for  he  was  always  an  interesting 
man.  But  we  have  no  room  for  it  here ;  we  have  already 
"switched  off"  our  narrative  too  often  to  allow  other  trains  to 
pass;  and  fear,  if  we  do  not  keep  the  main  track  where  we  have 
the  right  of  way,  we  may  be  behind  time  at  our  depot. 

The  eldest  daughter  married  out  of  the  name,  and  carried  the 
6 


62  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

homestead  to  another  line  of  heirships ;  but  for  quiet  domestic 
life,  few  daughters  of  the  mountain  did  better,  or  as  well,  as 
Sally.  Few  happier  homes  could  be  found  than  she  had,  and 
made  for  her  parents  and  friends.  .  One  only  child,  a  daughter, 
was  the  offspring  of  this  union.  In  childhood,  the  pet;  in  girl- 
hood, the  favorite  of  every  acquaintance.  In  '55  a  stranger  found 
her  at  the  old  homestead  with  a  beautiful  little  pet  daughter 
swinging  in  a  basket  in  the  old  red  kitchen,  the  wife  of  a  man  who 
did  not  change  her  paternal  name,  a  returned  Californian,  with  as 
noble  and  generous  a  heart  as  ever  beat  in  a  visitor  to  that  land 
of  the  sunset.  "  What  a  homestead  !  "  exclaimed  the  visitor. 
"  What  a  pet  with  its  mother,  and  grandmother,  and  great-grand- 
mother, father  and  grandfather,  at  home  !  "  all  in  health  and  com- 
fort. This  eldest  daughter  and  her  husband  joined  church  with 
the  mother,  but  like  her  never  allowed  their  religion  to  destroy 
their  humanity,  or  kindness  to  all  of  God's  children.  They  never 
attempted  to  force  their  creed  upon  others,  nor  to  fight  their  way 
to  heaven ;  but  left  the  fighting  for  others,  of  more  belligerent 
dispositions. 

The  second  daughter  was  the  kind  sister  into  whose  care  our 
wanderer  fell  in  the  time  of  his  sickness,  and  whose  charity  and 
good  qualities  of  soul  were  always  a  sure  guaranty  of  heaven  in 
the  other  life,  without  a  religious  creed;  and  hence  she  needed 
and  received  none.  She  married  in  the  West.  Two  boys  were  the 
offspring  of  the  union,  when  a  consumption  seized  her  husband, 
and  soon  freed  his  spirit  from  its  earthly  tenement,  and  her  from 
his  efforts  to  obtain  the  means  of  support  and  education  for  their 
children  ;  but  she  struggled  on  in  the  West  against  fearful  odds, 
for  a  time,  then  returned  to  her  native  town,  and  there,  by  the 
industry  and  economy  learned  of  her  mother,  with  much  skill  and 
ingenuity  aided  her  boys  into  manhood,  ever  maintaining  that 
kind  spirit  and  warmth  of  soul  which  were  hers  in  days  of  pros- 
perity. The  other  daughter  was  the  last  and  youngest  of  the 
family,  but  not  least  in  importance,  especially  in  this  narrative. 
She  was  the  pet  of  both  father  and  mother,  and  early  pressed  into 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  63 

the  church  to  be  saved ;  for  at  that  time  there  was  little  hope  of 
the  other  children  being  saved  through  the  church,  and  certainly 
one  of  the  family  ought  to  go  with  their  excellent  and  dear 
mother,  and  it  was  an  evidence  of  kindness,  if  nothing  more,  in 
her  to  join  church  with  the  mother.  Of  religion  at  that  time  she 
knew  very  little,  especially  of  the  subtle  creeds  of  the  orthodox 
church.  She  was  educated  for  a  teacher,  and  had  some  experi- 
ence in  training  the  young  ideas  to  shoot  like  buds  into  blossom, 
when,  in  the  autumn  of  '36,  the  sister  from  the  West  returned  for 
a  short  visit  to  the  mountain  home  of  her  childhood. 

After  much  effort  at  persuasion  the  parents  and  eldest  sister 
consented  to  the  proposed  visit  of  the  youngest  sister  to  Michigan, 
with  a  promise  of  return  with  spring.  Thus  arranged,  when 
the  husband  came  for  his  mate,  and  the  one  husband  and  two 
sisters  started  for  the  western  home,  from  which  very  few  girls 
ever  return  to  New  England  without  being  first  married.  Pleas- 
antly they  jolted  and  glided  over  road,  and  canal,  and  lake,  and 
safely  landed  at  Monroe,  where  the  guest  was  soon  introduced  to 
the  friends  and  visitors,  among  whom  was,  of  course,  the  Lone 
One;  for  this  was  the  most  like  a  home  of  any  he  found.  Only  a 
few  weeks,  and  the  industrious  Yankee  girl  was  found  teaching  a 
school  some  miles  in  the  country ;  but  Saturday  nights  she  was 
found  at  her  sister's,  usually  by  the  aid  of  one  who  boarded  there ; 
and,  although  the  horse  and  buggy  hire  was  greater  than  amount 
received  for  teaching,  yet  economy  was  never  a  consideration  in 
love  affairs,  and  one  pocket  paid,  while  the  other  received,  the 
sums.  Is  it  possible  the  orphan  is  contemplating  marriage,  with 
no  home  and  no  means  to  purchase  one  ?  Few  friends,  and  none 
to  help  him  to  a  home ;  and  that  to  a  beautiful  girl,  with  precari- 
ous health,  just  arrived  from  the  East,  and  yet  to  be  acclimated, 
by  sickness  and  trials,  to  the  western  climate,  —  he  an  infidel,  she 
&  Christian  ? 

"  The  dream  that  wishing  boyhood  knows 

Is  but  a  bright  beguiling  spell, 
Which  only  lives  while  passion  glows    • 


64  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

But  when  this  early  flush  declines, 

When  the  heart's  vivid  morning  fleets, 
You  know  not  then  how  close  it  twines 
Round  the  first  kindred  soul  it  meets." 

MOORE. 

"  No  one  is  so  accursed  by  fate, 
No  one  so  utterly  desolate, 
But  some  heart,  though  unknown, 
Responds  unto  his  own,  — 
Responds,  as  if  with  unseen  wings 
An  angel  touched  its  quivering  strings, 
And  whispers,  in  its  song, 
Where  hast  thou  strayed  so  long  ?  " 

LONGFELLOW. 

Thus  it  was ;  but  the  lonely  heart  of  the  orphan  had  borne  its 
burdens  of  grief  and  sorrow  long  enough  alone.  Why  should  not 
some  sympathizing  spirit  share  with  him  the  trials  and  griefs? 
The  only  question  now  was,  Who  shall  it  be  ?  Who  will  volun- 
teer for  a  campaign,  in  which  hardships  are  most  painful 
and  soul-trying,  but  for  which  there  awaits  a  pension  and  coun- 
try's blessing,  at  last?  Who  will  enlist  and  accept  the  commission? 
She  accepted,  and  received  the  following  commission  • 

"  When  the  day  of  life  is  dreary, 

And  when  gloom  thy  course  enshrouds  ; 
When  thy  step  is  faint  and  weary, 

And  thy  spirits  dark  with  clouds, 
Steadfast  still  in  thy  well-doing, 

Let  thy  soul  forget  the  past; 
Steadfast  still  the  right  pursuing, 

Doubt  not  joy  shall  come  at  last. 

"  Striving  still,  and  onward  pressing, 

Seek  not  future  years  to  know, 
But  deserve  the  wished-for  blessing,  — 

It  shall  come,  though  it  be  slow  ; 
Never  tiring,  upward  gazing, 

Let  thy  fears  aside  be  cast, 
4nd  thy  trials  tempting,  bearing, 

Doubt  not  joy  shall  come  at  last. 


LIFE-LINE   OF   TIIE   LONE   ONE.  65 

"  Keep  not  then  thy  mind  regretting; 

Seek  the  good,  spurn  evil's  thrall  ; 
Though  thy  foes  thy  path  besetting, 

Thou  shalt  triumph  o'er  them  all  ; 
Though  each  year  but  bring  thee  sadness, 

Aiid  thy  youth  be  fleeting  fast, 
There  '11  be  time  enough  for  gladness,  — 

Doubt  not  joy  shall  come  at  last." 

But  a  marriage  !  0,  the  thoughts  of  a  marriage  !  None  but 
the  ardent  and  impassioned  youth  can  ever  know  the  feelings,  — 
the  doubts,  the  fears,  the  excited  curiosity,  the  dreams,  the  mys- 
tery, which  hang  over  an  appproaching  event  of  this  nature,  to 
the  young,  the  unqualified,  the  untutored  mind,  as  these,  and 
most  others,  were  at  their  first  experiment  in  social  and  domestic 
bondage.  How  often  these  dreams  of  bliss  unspeakable  —  these 
anticipations  of  joy  beyond  measure  —  prove  only  dreams,  or 
fancy  sketches,  that  fade  like  the  mirage,  or  burst  like  the  bubble 
•when  touched  by  real  life  !  How  often  does  this  happiest  and 
most  sacred  institution  of  social  life,  under  our  present  system  of 
legal  control  and  restraint,  become  only  a  wheel  of  persecution, 
and  misery,  and  suffering,  that  soon  crushes  the  weaker  of  the 
twain  to  an  untimely  death,  to  make  way  for  another,  often  to 
follow  !  How  futile  the  attempt  to  legalize,  regulate,  and  control 
the  affections  by  statute,  and  make  uncongenial  beings  love  each 
other,  because  in  the  wild  passions  of  uneducated  youth  they  made 
a  sad  mistake,  and,  as  many  do  by  such  mistakes,  made  each 
other  miserable,  instead  of  happy.  When  will  the  institutions  of 
men  be  founded  on  nature,  and  contribute  to  our  happiness,  instead 
of  breaking  us,  bone  after  bone,  on  the  wheel  of  an  inquisition? 

Competent  observers  of  the  social  relations  of  our  time  suppose 
there  are  about  one  couple  in  fifty  who  are  spiritually  and  physi- 
cally married,  — whose  souls  are  united,  and  bodies  harmonized  to 
each  other  ;  and  about  one  third  of  the  others  are  fraternally  mar- 
ried, and  live  in  a  sort  of  business  relation,  quietly,  and  often 
happily,  to  all  outward  appearance  ;  some  feeling  a  kindred  bond 
6* 


66  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

of  sympathy,  bordering  on  love.  The  rest  are  in  sunshine  and 
showers  mixed,  or  cat  and  dog  life,  barking  and  snapping  much  of 
the  time  when  the  neighbors  are  not  in  sight  or  hearing.  It  is 
almost  a  certain  sacrifice  of  happiness,  health,  or  life,  for  a  deli- 
cate, sensitive  and  refined  girl,  with  a  pure  body,  to  be  united  in 
marriage  to  a  man  with  a  body  polluted  with  tobacco,  pork,  and 
strong  drink,  and  hardened  by  physical  exercise  so  as  to  endure 
those  poisons.  Too  many  victims  are  ready  to  testify  to  this 
assertion  to  need  other  proof,  and  yet  how  seldom  they  caution 
the  young,  and  warn  others  to  avoid  their  terrible  experience  ! 

Do  not  be  hasty,  reader,  in  judging  the  fate  of  these  two 
streams  from  the  mountains  of  the  Granite  State,  which  are  here- 
after to  be  united  in  one  name  and  life,  and  move  on  in  one 
channel  to  the  ocean  of  spirit-life.  For  in  your  haste  you  may 
not  judge  aright.  Wait  and  read,  then  inquire  of  each  ;  for  from 
each  you  may  learn  the  experience  that  at  least  will  be  an  advice, 
if  you  need  it.  There  are  narrows  and  shoals,  rocks  and  quick- 
sands, islands  and  windings,  in  nearly  every  stream  of  life  with 
double  channel,  and  the  experience  of  pilots  is  not  to  be  despised 
by  the  young.  Sugar  River  empties  into,  and  is  lost  in  the  Con- 
necticut. So  this  mountain  lass  from  its  banks  lost  a  part  of  her 
name  in  that  of  the  stranger,  and  took  passage  in  the  turbulent 
Life-Line  of  the  Lone  One,  somewhat  in  this  wise :  On  the  5th 
day  of  the  year  1837,  being  the  twenty-fourth  natal  day  of  the 
orphan,  the  sun  sank  slowly  in  the  western  hase  of  a  winter  sky, 
and  the  day  faded  from  sight,  leaving  a  long  evening  before  bed- 
time. The  Lone  One  was  still  only  one  :  had  no  relative  in  the 
West,  had  seen  none  since  he  left  the  East,  and  scarcely  expected 
to  ever  more  see  one  from  that  region  ;  for  most  of  them  were  too 
poor  to  come  so  far.  He  was  early  this  evening  at  the  house  of 
his  kind  friend.  The  younger  sister  was  also  present.  She  had 
numbered  a  score  or  more  of  the  birth-day  mile-stones,  which  are 
so  conspicuous  in  our  youth,  and  so  much  neglected  in  age.  The 
parlor  fire  was  burning  brightly,  the  lamps  were  trimmed,  the 
furniture  tastily%rranged ;  the  red-coat  man  also  came  early  in, 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  67 

and  was  amusing  the  company  with  jokes,  when  a  gentle  rap  at 
the  door  brought  silence  in  the  parlor.  Slowly  the  doors  were 
opened,  and  in  came  a  dark-robed  priest,  from  the  Episcopal  fort 
of  devotion  and  defence.  He  was  merry  and  sociable,  and  soon 
restored  mirth  in  the  circle ;  but  the  orphan  and  the  younger 
sister  of  the  red-coat  man  were  absent.  Still  the  laugh  and  joke 
went  round,  until  suddenly  opened  a  door,  and  slowly,  but  majes- 
tically came  in  the  Lone  One,  curiously  robed  in  Quaker  drab, 
and  the  sister  in  wedding  white,  accompanied  by  a  youth  and  lass, 
who  arranged  themselves  on  either  side,  as  the  four  placed  them- 
selves before  the  priest,  who  now  began  to  look  grave  and  solemn, 
as  if  some  terrible  event  was  about  to  befall  the  company.  The 
company  remained  seated,  only  the  two  who  stood  beside  the  pair, 
to  catch  them  in  case  of  fainting  or  falling  by  the  awful  cere- 
mony about  to  be  performed.  The  mystic  words  fell  slow  and 
sure  from  the  sacred  lips  of  the  "  man  of  God,"  who  bade  these 
two  to  eat  and  sleep,  to  bed  and  board,  to  live  and  love,  to  com- 
mand and  obey,  to  support  and  serve,  to  hold  and  bear  one  name, 
to  the  end  of  life's  journey  on  earth  ;  but  they  bound  no  further; 
for  the  wise  priest  said,  in  his  heaven,  where  his  Saviour  lived, 
there  was  no  marrying  nor  yimnrj  in  marriage.  Ah,  false  man  ! 
why  work  against  thy  prayers  ?  When  thou  prayest  daily  for 
that  kingdom  to  come  on  earth  in  which  there  is  no  marrying, 
how  shall  it  come  while  thy  works  are  against  thy  prayers  ?  But 
great  are  the  mysteries  of  thy  ways,  0  priesthood  of  earth  !  They 
did  not  faint  or  fall  on  receiving  the  awful  bond  by  which  the 
priest  said  God  put  two  beings  together  so  that  no  man  should 
dare  to  put  them  asunder.  If  God  did  do  it,  then  the  priest  did 
not;  and  if  God  did  not,  then  the  priest  surely  did  not;  and 
hence  his  act  was  useless  either  way,  except  as  a  license  to  society 
to  call  them  man  and  wife;  for  the  priest  said  they  might  be  called 
so,  for  he  made  them  so.  The  solemn  part  of  the  scene  was  short; 
and  soon  the  kiss,  the  laugh,  the  joke,  the  cake,  and  —  last,  but 

lot  least  —  the  wine,  went  round  ;  and  all,  even  the  solemn  priest, 

oartook,  and  became  merry. 


68  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

Slowly  the  company  departed  or  retired  ;  and  the  wonderful  and 
fearful  bed-time  came  for  the  twain  who  had  never  known  such 
lodgings  before,  and  never  can  again.  Somehow,  there  is  some- 
thing mysteriously  undefinable  in  the  first  month  of  a  young  mar- 
ried couple  who  have  ever  been  diffident  and  reserved,  and  have 
known  nothing  of  the  relations  of  social  or  sexual  life,  save  what 
a  lying  and  gossipping  world  has  told  them.  We  shall  not  follow 
them  to  the  chamber,  nor  through  the  sleepless  hours,  but  leave 
curiosity  on  its  tiptoe,  with  such  caution  as  might  be  given  by  the 
saddened  and  paling  countenance,  and  the  tear-wet  pillows,  which 
have  marked  the  early  experience  of  many  wedded  pairs.  Hap- 
piness !  Shall  we  call  this  a  change  fur  happiness,  —  such  a 
change  as  brought,  for  both,  new  trials  and  troubles,  but  especially 
severe  ones  for  the  one  who  had  left  her  quiet  mountain  home,  her 
name,  and  her  liberty,  and  agreed  to  love,  serve,  and  obey  ?  No 
person  with  equal  capacity  ever  tried  harder  to  submit  to  fate,  and 
be  happy  in  an  uncongenial  condition  of  new  and  strange  life,  than 
did  this  fair  girl  in  her  new  relation  of  wife.  But  the  counte- 
nance paled,  the  form  emaciated,  the  cough  increased ;  but  still 
the  smile  ever  welcomed  the  husband,  and  no  complaint  was  ut- 
tered, save  the  occasional  hint  that  an  early  death  was  approach- 
ing. Is  this  a  solitary  experience  ?  If  so,  it  is  not  worth  relat- 
ing. If  not,  it  hath  other  testimonies,  and  the  cause  should  be 
sought  and  found ;  and  if  it  was  the  pork,  tobacco,  and  coffee, 
used  by  one  only  of  the  twain,  others  should  be  warned  to  avoid, 
and  the  young  be  cautioned  against,  their  baneful  effects.  His 
eoul  could  still  be  heard  to  murmur,  in  its  sadness  : 

"  Though  the  day  of  my  destiny  's  over, 

And  the  star  of  my  fate  hath  declined, 
Thy  soft  heart  refused  to  discover 

The  faults  which  so  many  could  find. 
Though  thy  soul  with  my  grief  was  acquainted, 

It  shrunk  not  to  share  it  with  me  ; 
And  the  love  which  my  spirit  hath  painted 

It  never  hath  found  but  in  thee." 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  69 

And  hers : 

"  No  !  let  the  eagle  change  his  plume, 
The  leaf  its  hue,  the  flower  its  bloom  ; 
But  ties  around  this  heart  once  spun  — 
They  cannot,  •will  not,  be  undone." 

"  But  the  mistletoe  clings  to  the  oak,  not  in  part, 
But  with  leaves  closely  round  it ;  the  root  in  its  heart 
Exists  but  to  clasp  it,  —  imbibe  the  same  dew,  — 
Or  to  fall  with  its  loved  oak,  and  perish  there,  too." 

SECTION  V. 

AXOTUER    LIFE. 

The  female  side  of  the   two-in-one   prayed,   and   the  answer 
same  : 

"Ask  what  thou  wilt,"  said  a  fairy  voice, 

"  Ask  what  thou  wilt  of  me  ; 
Of  all  on  earth  thou  canst  have  thy  choice, 

On  the  land,  or  on  the  sea. 
I  have  the  power  rich  gifts  to  bestow, 

And  what  thou  wilt  I  '11  grant : 
But  only  once,  I  would  have  thee  know, 
Can  I  supply  thy  want." 

Then  I  sat  down,  and  pondered  long 

On  what  the  gift  should  be 
Which  the  fairy  voice  had  kindly  said 

Should  be  given  but  once  to  me. 
I  will  not  ask  that  wealth  or  fame 

Should  a  worthless  chaplet  twine 
Around  my  brow,  or  adorn  my  name, 

Nor  that  beauty  should  be  mine  ; 

For  these  are  transient  as  the  dew 

Before  the  burning  sun, 
And  fade  as  quickly  from  the  view 

Ere  morning  is  begun. 
"  In  none  of  these,"  my  heart  replied, 

"Would  the  height  of  happiness  be  ; 
True  love  and  a  happy  home,"  I  cried, 

"Is  all  that  I  ask  of  thee." 


70  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

The  fairy  wrote,  "  'T  is  granted."  But,  0,  the  distance  to  it, 
and  the  terrible  path  that  was  to  be  travelled,  over  rocks  ai- 
quicksands,  quagmires  and  dismal  swamps,  in  heats  of  sun,  and 
storms  of  icy  rain,  more  than  this  narrative  can  record,  or  the  heart 
can  ever  recall  and  relate  !  But  we  will  follow  her  through  the 
years  to  the  happy  home  of  destiny  and  declining  years,  if  we 
can,  (leaving  out  many  of  the  sorest  trials  of  domestic  life),  in  a 
new  country,  through  deep  poverty,  poor  health,  and  a  sick  heart. 
The  masculine  side  of  the  two-in-one  prayed,  and  the  answer  came 
also  to  him  ;  but  the  prayers  were  not  one  : 

"  0, 1  envy  those 

Whose  hearts  on  hearts  as  faithful  can  repose  ; 
Who  never  feel  the  void,  the  wandering  thought, 
That  sighs  o'er  visions  such  as  mine  hath  wrought." 

Then  th"e  impulsed  answer  came,  with  slow  promise  : 

"  He  who  would  be  the  tongue  of  this  wide  land 

Must  string  his  harp  with  chords  of  sturdy  iron. 

And  strike  it  with  a  toil-embrowned  hand. 

Such,  such  is  he  for  whom  the  world  is  waiting 

To  sing  the  beatings  of  its  mighty  heart ; 

Too  long  hath  it  been  patient  with  the  grating 

Of  scrannel-pipes,  and  heard  it  misnamed  Art" 

But  thou  shalt  ever  move 

"  With  a  high  and  holy  purpose, 
Doing  all  thou  find'st  to  do, 
Seeking  ever  man's  upraising, 
With  the  highest  end  in  view. 

"  Undepressed  by  seeming  failure, 

Undated  by  success, 
Heights  attained  revealing  higher  — 
Onward,  upward,  ever  press. 

"  Slowly  moves  the  march  of  ages, 
Slowly  grows  the  forest  king  ; 
Slowly  to  perfection  cometh  • 

Every  great  and  glorious  thing. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  71 

"  Broadest  streams  from  narrowest  sources ; 

Noblest  trees  from  meanest  seeds  ; 
Mighty  ends  from  small  beginnings  ; 
From  lowly  promise  lofty  deeds. 

"  Acorns  which  the  winds  have  scattered 

Future  navies  may  provide  ; 
Thoughts  at  midnight  whispered  lowly 
Prove  a  people's  future  guide. 

"  Such  the  law  enforced  by  nature 

Since  the  earth  her  course  began  ; 
Such  to  thee  she  searcheth  daily, 
Eager,  ardent,  restless  man. 

"  Never  hasting,  never  resting  ; 

Glad  in  peace,  and  calm  in  strife  ; 
Quietly  thyself  preparing 
To  perform  thy  part  in  life. 

"  Earnest,  hopeful,  and  unswerving, 

Weary  though  thou  art,  and  faint, 
Ne'er  despair,  —  there  's  God  above  thee, 
Listing  ever  to  thy  plaint. 

"  Stumbleth  he  who  runneth  fast  ; 

Dieth  he  who  standeth, still  : 
Nor  by  haste  nor  rest  can  ever 
Man  his  destiny  fulfil." 

The  letter  from  the  Baptist  church  in  New  Hampshire,  which 
she  brought  with  her,  never  reached  its  destination  in  another 
church ;  for  she  adopted  the  more  rational  religion  of  her  husband 
readily,  and  ever  after,  slowly  but  finally,  sought  a  heaven  and 
home  with  him  for  the  other  life,  as  she  had  chosen  one  with  him 
in  this.  The  Lone  One  now  had  a  hired  home,  such  as  his  low 
circumstances  would  allow ;  was  settled,  not  as  a  preacher, 
although  he  did  sometimes  preach,  when  opportunity  offered,  not 
because  he  was  ordained,  or  licensed  to  preach,  but  because  the 
spirit  moved  him  to  it,  and  h*e  had  the  right  by  double  baptism ; 


72  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE. 

for  he  was. often  baptized  hy  the  Iloly  Ghost,  or  good  spirits,  and 
he  had  once  been  baptized  by  water  ;  not  by  human  hands,  but  by 
God,  somewhat  in  thiswise:  When  quite  a  boy,  he  went  alone 
on  a  cloudy  day  to  a  meadow,  in  a  wood,  quite  secluded  from 
road  and  farm,  to  angle  for  trout  and  pickerel,  in  a  small  stream 
which  followed  its  snaky  path  through  the  meadow.  It  was  on 
one  of  those  cold,  ocean-storm  days  so  common  on  the  coast  of 
New  England  in  May  and  June.  When  he  reached  the  edge  of 
the  pine  and  hemlock  forest  bordering  the  meadow,  the  tall  grass 
was  very  wet,  and  it  began  to  rain  steadily.  Like  the  bathing  maid 
in  the  Summer  of  Thomson's  Seasons,  he  cast  a  searching  glance 
around  for  man  and  beast, — for  he  was  extremely  bashful. 
Satisfied  that  none  but  he  and  God  were  present, — and  before 
God  he  was  not  ashamed,  —  he  carefully  laid  away  every  article 
of  covering  in  a  hollow  log,  where  they  would  keep  dry,  and 
entered  the  meadow  naked  as  he  entered  the  world.  Then  and 
there  God  baptized  him  from  the  clouds  for  half  a  day  or  more. 
The  witnesses  were  angels  and  crows,  and  the  record  made  in 
heaven  and  his  memory,  and  the  manner  was  both  by  sprinkling 
and  immersion,  and  he  received  it  both  in  fear  and  trembling;  for 
he  feared  some  man  or  beast  might  come  that,  way,  and  trembled 
with  cold.  Caught  the  fish,  and  probably  a  cold,  and  returned 
late,  and  quite  dry  for  one  whom  God  had  just  baptized  with  five 
hours'  sprinkling,  and  an  immersion  in  the  brook.  He  always  con- 
sidered afterward,  if  baptism  was  a  saving  ordinance,  that  this  was 
sufficient  for  him ;  as  the  ceremony  was  performed  by  the  head  of 
nature's  church,  and  witnessed  and  recorded  by  angels.  The  other 
baptism  was  also  of  God,  through  nature,  —  for  God  was  the 
author  and  father  of  his  nature,  — which  had  endowed  him  with 
both  desire  and  capacity  to  preach,  or  rather  to  talk  in  public. 

Persons  who  resided  in  the  Western  States  and  figured  in  busi- 
ness life  in  '37  and  '38  have  not  forgotten,  and  will  not  soon 
forget,  the  convulsions  of  commerce  and  trade  at  that  time ;  the 
suspension  of  banks,  and  failure  of  business  men,  both  great  and 
Email.  The  scarcity  of  money,  and  'entire  want  of  confidence  in  all 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  73 

western  traders  and  speculators,  induced  the  Lone  One  to  close  up 
his  small  business,  discontinue  his  auction  and  commission  sales, 
return  his  assortment  of  infidel  books,  —  which  had  been  kept 
conspicuously  on  the  shelf  for  sale,  —  to  the  owners  and  publish- 
ers,-—  the  Mattsells,  of  Xew  York,  —  to  pack  up  such  goods  as  he 
believed  would  be  needed,  or  would  sell  readily,  and  could  be 
spared  from  the  store,  and  send  them  by  and  with  a  friend  to 
Wisconsin,  the  land  which  he  had  selected  as  his  future  home, 
and  to  which  he  had  resolved  to  remove  early  in  the  spring  of 
'38,  if  the  health  of  his  wife  would  permit ;  for  he  could  not  now 
think  of  going  without  her,  although  it  might  have  been  better  for 
both  if  he  had  gone,  and  prepared  a  home  to  receive  them  before 
moving  her.  Neither  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Great  Harmonia 
nor  Esoteric  Anthropology  had  been  published,  nor  had  any  other 
book  fallen  into  their  hands  which  contained  the  instruction,  so 
necessary  for  new  beginners  in  domestic  life,  which  these,  and 
some  of  Fowler's  works  contain. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  '37  the  business  was  all  closed  up,  sold  out, 
and  transferred,  and  the  little  family  ready  to  move.  But  in  the 
mean  time  other  changes  had  transpired,  which  must  be  noted 
here. 

The  bachelor  red-coat  man  had  become  a  husband,  and  by  the 
aid  of  the  Lone  One  had  surveyed  a  village  plot,  ten  miles  from 
Monroe,  named  it  for  his  native  town,  moved  to  it,  and  com- 
menced building  a  western  city  in  a  place  where  commerce  — 
which  alone  builds  cities  —  never  required  one.  At  this  new  home 
the  husband  and  wife  had  resolved  to  spend  the  winter,  with  the 
brother  and  wife ;  but  there  was  one  more  whose  interests  and 
welfare  were  to  be  consulted.  Early  in  the  autumn  the  skill  of 
an  experienced  physician  was  required  at  the  home  of  the  Lone 
One  ;  and,  could  an  experienced  mother  have  seen  the  pale  face, 
the  often  almost  strangled  and  convulsed  condition,  by  coughing, 
of  the  wife,  and  other  causes,  she  would  not  have  wondered, 
more  than  the  physician  did,  that  three  pounds  of  boy  were 
hurried  into  outer  life  two  months  before  the  proper  time,  and, 
7 


74  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

breathing  feebly,  gave  signs  of  life,  which  the  skilful  physician 
said  could  by  no  possible  means  be  saved  and  reared  to  manhood. 
But  he  was  not  infallible;  for,  although  the  "little  thing1'  did 
not  grow  for  several  weeks,  and  often  stopped  breathing  to 
all  appearance,  yet  the  renewal  of  breath  from  the  mother,  and 
stimulants,  with  a  warm  bath,  renewed  and  continued  life,  till 
the  form  began  slowly  to  grow,  which  did  not  entirely  stop  until 
it  reached  a  stature  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  father,  and 
somewhat  like  it  in  form,  with  a  mind  capable  of  extending 
further,  and  better  adapted  to  life.  They  gave  him  the  name  of 
a  great  and  distinguished  poet,  but  one  whose  mantle  of  men- 
tal and  physical  blindness  they  hoped  would  never  fall  on  him. 
Slowly  the  form  of  the  mother  recovered  partially,  but  not  fully, 
from  this  premature  sickness,  and  dragged  out  a  miserable  existence, 
in  great  anxiety  and  constant  care  of  this  pet,  at  the  new  home  of 
the  brother,  during  the  long,  cold  winter  of  '37  and  '38.  The 
brother  and  wife  were  kind,  and  all  tried  to  make  her  as  comfort- 
able as  circumstances  would  allow ;  but  they  expected  the  spring 
would  carry  both  mother  and  child  to  the  grave-yard.  But  both 
survived,  and  the  mother  is  now  reaping  the  reward  for  her 
trials  and  care  in  the  kind  and  dutiful  attention  of  one  of  the  best 
of  sons,  and  an  excellent  scholar,  both  in  science  and  life.  The 
science  of  married  life  is  a  great  and  important  science,  but  few  have 
published  to  the  world,  for  the  benefit  of  others,  their  experiments 
or  experience  in  it.  If  they  would, —  and  especially  those  who  con- 
stitutionally break  down,  and  send  to  untimely  graves  two  or  three 
partners  and  more  children,  —  it  might  be  more  useful  to  young 
people  than  the  thousands  of  religious  tracts  and  foolish  novels  that 
flood  the  markets  of  literature. 

One  yearly  mile-stone  on  the  journey  of  united  life  had  now 
been  passed,  and  the  experience  of  the  journey  deeply  recorded 
on  each  heart.  Both  had  now  realized  what  most  persons  realize 
as  the  ultimate  of  courtship.  The  deep  soul-yearnings  of  the 
Lone  One,  who  eagerly  and  ardently  and  constantly  yearned  for 
love  and  fondness  in  such  abundance  as  would  bring  up  the  want 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE   ONE.  75 

of  long  years  of  dearth  and  coldness,  through  which  he  had 
lived,  could  only  be  met  and  satisfied  by  the  deepest,  strongest, 
and  most  ardent  and  devoted  soul,  in  a  fully-developed  body  and 
mind.  The  tender  object  of  his  love  and  care  had  ever  been  — 
as  the  youngest  child  of  a  large  family  —  nursed  with  fond- 
ness, and  loved  and  petted,  without  being  taught  to  express  the 
soul's  deepest  emotions  in  return.  She  had  never  been  scathed 
in  the  fiery  furnace  of  trial  and  trouble,  which  has  ever  devel- 
oped and  purified  the  soul  of  man  or  woman,  and  called  out  the 
inner  life,  with  all  its  force  and  energy.  With  a  feeble  body  and 
strong  mental  system ;  large  brain,  coarser  and  more  uniform 
in  texture,  and  slower  in  action  than  the  other,  but  capable  of 
great  intensity  of  feeling  when  aroused.  With  a  scrofulous  con- 
sumption on  the  lungs,  and  the  duties  and  burdens  of  a  wife  and 
mother  in  poverty  pressing  upon  her  mind  and  body,  she  bore  her 
burden  without  complaint,  but  in  misery  and  sorrow ;  for  it  was 
plainly  written  on  her  pallid  countenance  that  the  reality  of  mar- 
ried life,  under  such  circumstances,  was  not  the  beautiful  realiza- 
tion of  the  fairy  dreams  of  girlhood,  or  the  heaven  of  romance 
which  novelists  so  often  picture  in  the  union  of  lovers.  The 
constant  labor  of  the  husband  supplied  the  immediate  wants,  but 
made  little  progress  toward  securing  the  more  permanent  comforts 
of  domestic  life.  The  snow-storms  of  winter  were  drifting  around 
the  border  of  Erie.  The  mother  was  watching  and  nursing,  day  and 
night,  the  pet  at  the  new  and  rude  home  of  the  brother ;  the  hus- 
band was  some  distance  up  the  river,  in  the  forest,  tending,  with 
his  former  partner  in  the  store  —  who  was  also  a  young  hus- 
band, and  poor —  a  saw-mill  which  they  had  leased,  and  in  which 
they  were,  by  constant  hard  labor,  making  lumber  quite  fast,  and 
piling  it  up  near  the  mill,  on  the  hill-side,  to  save  the  labor  of 
carrying  it  far  away.  Late  one  Saturday  night,  in  the  midst  of  a 
cold  and  windy  snow-storm,  the  mill  suddenly  stopped  by  some 
break  or  obstruction  in  the  wheel  under  the  high  water.  It  was 
a  cold  and  difficult  work  to  uncap  the  wheel  and  remove  the  ob- 
struction in  the  cold  water,  dark  night,  and  exhausted  condi- 


76  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONF   ONE. 

tion  of  their  bodies,  and  they  "  raked  up  "  their  fire,  and,  aa 
they  supposed,  made  all  safe,  and  started  for  their  homes.  No 
family  was  living  in  sight  of  the  mill ;  and  only  Thor,  with  his 
winds,  was  left  to  guard  the  mill  in  the  absence  of  the  occupants. 
Next  morning,  near  ten  o'clock,  a  Frenchman  came  to  inform 
the  partners  that  God  had  let  the  winds  blow  the  fire  about  the 
mill,  and  it  had  all  burned  down,  and  the  large  pile  of  lumber 
had  rolled  in  and  shared  the  same  fate.  This  "  providential  occur- 
rence "  had  taken  place  on  the  Sabbath  day,  when  the  occu- 
pants of  the  mill  were  resting  according  to  command ;  but  when 
the  winds,  and  snows,  and  fires,  would  not  stop  to  rest,  showing 
that  God  did  not  rest  on  that  day,  in  this  age,  if  he  ever 
did.  The  loss  of  rent,  lumber,  and  labor,  was  a  severe  one  for 
both  the  partners,  but  did  not  change  the  determination  of  the 
Lone  One  to  start  early  in  the  spring  for  Wisconsin,  where  he 
hoped  to  be  able  to  secure  a  home,  by  industry  and  economy,  in  a 
few  years.  The  smouldering  fire-ruins  of  the  old  mill  went  out, 
and  the  day  brightened  into  a  clear,  calm,  and  beautiful  evening, 
and  the  Lone  One  was  again  with  the  mother  and  babe.  How 
pleasant,  how  calm,  how  happy,  how  full  of  joy  and  love,  is  a  truly 
wedded  life,  where  body  and  spirit  and  mind  are  united  by  God's 
harmonic  law  of  true  marriage,  which  ever  binds  two  — only  two  — 
souls  in  one  life,  in  which  the  will  of  each  is  the  desire  of  both, 
and  the  desire  of  each  is  ever  in  harmony  with  the  interest  of  the 
other.  'T  is  a  beautiful  picture,  which  cannot  be  too  highly  wrought, 
but  which  is  seldom  realized  in  what  we  call  marriage.  Only 
enough  instances  to  prove  it  true  are  to  be  found ;  but  the  iin« 
mortal  Keats  says  : 

"  Love  in  a  hut,  with  water  and  a  crust, 
Is  —  Love  forgive  us  !  —  cinders,  ashes,  dust !  " 

And  Rogers,  that 

"  Through  the  wide  world,  he  only  is  alone 
Who  lives  not  for  another." 

And  Froude,  that 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  77 

"  Love  is  not  in  our  power,  — 
Nay,  what  seems  stranger,  is  not  in  our  choice  ; 
"We  only  love  where  fate  ordains  we  should, 
And,  blindly  fond,  oft  slight  superior  merit." 

This  little  family  had  no  home,  and  faint,  indeed,  was  the  glim- 
mering hope  of  soon  obtaining  one.  The  restless  and  ambitious, 
but  unsatisfied,  soul  of  the  husband  had  yielded  to  the  earnest 
wish  of  the  wife  to  seek  first  a  home,  after  obtaining  which,  per- 
haps, all  other  desirable  things  might  be  added,  as  to  those  who 
seek  first,  and  find,  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  which,  according  to  the 
latest  interpretation,  is  the  sphere  of  spirit-life.  Early  in  spring 
the  little  group  of  three,  two  of  them  almost  helpless,  started  on 
the  watery  path,  by  schooner,  round  the  rivers  and  lakes,  to  a  spot 
called  Southport,  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  a 
company,  promising  the  Lone  One  employment,  had  partly  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land  for  purposes  of  speculation.  Three  long 
weeks,  —  sick  all  the  time,  —  they  were  tossed,  and  drifted,  and 
floated,  and  blown,  on  the  waters ;  and,  passing,  in  a  gale  of  wind, 
the  Southport  lauding,  they  were  at  last  unshipped,  in  persons  and 
effects,  in  Chicago,  to  have  their  few  effects  nearly  destroyed  in 
being  again  shipped  on  another  schooner,  with  another  freight 
and  passage  bill  to  pay.  After  four  more  days  of  beating  against 
wind  and  fate,  they  at  last  were  landed  on  the  sand-beach  of 
destination,  with  a  few  dollars  of  good  money,  and  a  few  of 
"  wild-cat "  and  "  red-dog,"  which  only  served  to  deceive  them 
with  illusive  hopes  of  purchasing  necessaries.  A  few  articles  for 
housekeeping  were  brought  along,  and  those  were  nearly  ruined  in 
the  journey,  as  the  health  of  the  three  seemed  to  be.  They  had  been 
often  told,  by  the  kind  Captain  M'Niff,  of  the  Barker,  that  they 
would  certainly  have  to  deposit  the  babe  in  the  lake,  or  bury  it  on 
shore,  and  that  the  mother's  chance  was  but  little  better  for  life. 
But  they  all  landed  alive,  and  never  was  a  heart  gladder  to  set 
foot  on  shore  than  was  that  of  the  Lone  One,  even  though  in 
poverty  and  among  strangers.  Twenty  dollars  of  the  small  amount 
with  which  he  started  had  been  kindly  loaned  to  him  by  an  infidel 
7* 


78  LIFE-LINE    01'    TIIE   LONE    ONE. 

friend  in  Monroe,  without  note  or  script,  and  without  which  they 
could  not  have  reached  the  destination  by  the  reshipment  at 
Chicago.  Many  years  after,  this  sum  was  returned  without 
interest,  but  with  much  gratitude  for  the  kindness  and  patience. 
When  the  most  tedious  and  stormy  voyage  of  fourteen  years'  ex- 
perience by  the  captain  had  terminated,  and  the  foot  of  the  Lone 
One  was  once  more  on  sand  or  sod,  amid  grass,  and  flowers,  and 
budding  trees,  and  singing  birds,  he  felt  renewed  in  heart  and 
hope,  and  once  more  resolved  to  renew  his  efforts  to  secure  a  home 
by  industry  and  economy.  The  first  effort  was  to  procure  a  house, 
or  room,  or  even  a  shanty,  in  which  they  could  live,  or  stay,  more 
cheaply  than  they  could  pay  board.  But  no  such  place  could  be 
procured,  and  the  best,  and  all  he  could  do,  was  to  take  board  at  a 
tavern  (not  a  hotel),  at  a  price  he  could  not  expect  to  pay  by 
labor,  even  if  he  could  find  plenty  of  work  and  ready  pay.  The 
next  business  was  to  search  out  the  lands  and  prospects  of  the 
company  (who  had  really  been  severely  taken  in),  and  write  to 
the  one  of  them  who  was  his  friend,  and  had  promised  him  em- 
ployment. This  he  did  at  once,  giving  him  the  facts  and  prospects, 
which  at  once  put  an  end  to  the  scheme,  and  to  his  hopes  of  busi- 
ness in  that  direction,  and  offended  some  citizens  who  hoped  to 
get,  at  least,  one  more  payment  on  the  purchase.  But  he  was  too 
conscientious  to  yield  even  to  his  own  necessities,  and  did  his  duty. 
It  was  the  10th  of  May  when  they  landed  among  the  eager  and 
pocket-hungry  settlers,  —  a  man  and  woman  well  dressed,  with  the 
palest  and  deadest  living  baby  they  ever  saw.  Some  guessed  they 
had  money.  Others  guessed  they  were  going  on  a  claim,  to  "  hold  " 
it.  But  the  next  day  satisfied  all,  when  they  found  the  man  had 
examined  and  condemned  the  purchase  of  the  Monroe  company, 
that  he  was  not  a  speculator,  at  least.  On  the  12th,  early  in 
morn,  the  Lone  One  could  have  been  seen  "  streaking  it "  across 
the  prairie,  and  through  wood,  and  all  day  long  leaning  and  step- 
ping westward  in  search  of  the  quarter-section,  which  was  claimed 
and  improved,  on  Whitewater  prairie,  by  his  old  widower  friend, 
!>y  and  with  whom  he  had  shipped  thy  goods  the  fall  before,  and 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  79 

which  he  now  so  much  needed,  and  which,  it  seemed,  they  needed 
to  save  them  from  starvation,  or,  at  least,  a  near  approach  to  it. 
Without  much  regard  to  road  or  stream,  he  kept,  as  near  as  he 
could,  on  the  compass  course  to  the  sixty  or  seventy  miles  distant 
point,  where  his  hopes  were  centred.  Some  time  in  the  day  he 
overtook  a  shanty,  and,  as  every  settler  in  that  time  kept  taveru, 
of  course  he  got  some  dinner  and  directions,  and  a  little  rest,  and 
then  pursued  again  his  journey.  As  the  evening  shades  came 
like  darkening  waves  over  the  earth,  a  rain-cloud  appeared  in  the 
west,  and  hurrying,  as  everything  hurries  in  the  great  West,  it 
soon  brought  both  rain  and  darkness  over  the  head  of  the  wan- 
derer. His  feet  were  then  on  a  large  prairie,  like  an  open  sea  ;  he 
found  a  path  leading  across  it,  but  not  in  the  direction  he  wished 
to  travel,  and  the  best  prospect  was  a  supperless  lodging  on  the 
open  prairie,  in  the  rain,  and  wet  clothes  for  a  pack ;  but  even 
this,  or  worse,  was  the  experience  of  other  settlers  of  that  country, 
and  what  had  been  endured  might  be  again.  With  this  hope  he 
comforted  himself,  but  ere  he  retired  to  rest  he  sought  the  most 
elevated  spot  he  had  marked  by  the  declining  light,  determined  to 
be  as  near  heaven  as  possible,  provided  he  should  have  to  go  up 
before  morning,  and  provided  heaven  was  up  from  earth.  When 
he  reached  the  summit  of  this  elevation,  and  cast  his  eyes  around 
in  the  darkness,  behold,  a  light-house  appeared  in  the  distance. 
After  assuring  himself  that  it  was  not  an  ignis  fatuus,  and  com- 
passing in  his  head  the  line  to  it,  he  set  out  in  pursuit.  It  was  a 
long,  wet,  dark,  tedious,  and  lonesome  way,  but  at  the  end  he 
found  the  house  that  had  the  light,  and  the  rough  voice  of  its  hardy 
pioneer  owner  welcomed  him  in,  and  listened  to  his  story  as  he 
dried  his  clothes  by  the  renewed  fire.  When  the  traveller  had 
told  his  story,  the  settler  informed  him  that  he  had  been  one  year 
on  Hart  prairie,  where  he  now  lived,  breaking  sod,  raising  corn, 
and  shooting  deer  and  grouse ;  and  that  the  claim  he  was  search- 
ing for  lay  nine  miles  distant,  and  the  old  man  was  on  it  doing 
well.  The  news  gladdened  the  heart  of  the  Lone  One.  A  short 
Bleep,  and  short  breakfast,  and  short  price,  were  all  soon  despatched, 


80  LIFE-LINE    OF   TUB   LONE   ONE. 

and  the  path  pursued  to  the  point  of  destination.  A  corn- 
planter,  on  the  prairie,  directed  the  traveller  to  the  claim  he  in- 
quired for,  but  informed  him  his  friend  had  gone  from  home,  and 
might  not  return  till  the  morrow.  lie  sought  the  ten-by-twelve 
shanty,  and  soon  unfastened  its  door,  took  possession,  and  dili- 
gently searched  for  food.  Bread  he  could  not  find ;  but  maple- 
sugar,  and  honey,  and  part  of  a  ham  of  pork,  he  found ;  and  the 
beautiful  brook,  which  played  along  its  narrow  channel  by  the 
door,  was  lined  with  cowslips.  Soon  he  had  the  tea-kettle  (the 
only  article  he  could  find  that  was  suitable)  full  of  the  stems  and 
flowers,  boiling,  over  a  renewed  fire,  in  the  rude  fireplace.  The  boiled 
ham,  salted  greens,  and  honey-comb,  made  him  the  best  dinner  and 
supper  he  had  eaten  for  many  years.  It  was  a  beautiful  day,  and 
a  beautiful  place,  such  as  only  those  who  have  been  reared  at  hard 
work,  among  rocks,  and  stumps,  and  hills,  and  swamps,  can  appre- 
ciate ;  and  only  those  whose  souls  are  inspired  by  the  beauties  of 
nature,  and  her  wild-flowers,  and  magnificent  landscapes,  can  enjoy. 
When  he  had  enjoyed  all  his  tired  body  would  allow,  and  the 
curtain  of  night  had  dropped  down  over  the  scene,  he  cradled  in 
the  bunk  or  berth  that  was  roped  up  on  the  side  of  the  shanty, 
about  six  feet  long  by  two  feet  wide,  in  which  were  some  parts  of 
a  bed.  The  tired  body  and  worried  mind  were  both  soon  wrapped 
in  repose ;  and  the  "  ocean  of  dreams  without  a  sound  "  was  not 
disturbed  until  long  after  the  sun  had  begun  shining  on  the  beau- 
tiful prairie,  awakening  its  songsters,  foliage,  and  flowers.  Sud- 
denly the  door  opened ;  and,  aroused,  the  Lone  One  opened  his 
eyes  to  meet  the  face  of  his  old  friend,  whose  astonishment  and 
curiosity  could  not  be  satisfied  till  long  after  the  cake  was  baked, 
and  meat  cooked,  and  tea  made,  and  the  breakfast  despatched. 
Sad  news  soon  spread  its  terrible  shade  over  the  Lone  One,  as  he 
learned  that  the  vessel  on  which  their  goods  were  shipped  had  been 
wrecked,  and  his  goods  all  lost.  What  next?  Dark,  darker, 
darkest  prospect,  what  next  ?  Surely  it  is  true  that  misfortunes 
seldom  come  single ;  but  once  it  was  so,  —  when  the  Lone  One 
was  born.  The  claim-aud-shanty  Prince  was  somewhat  the  senior 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  81 

of  the  orphan.  His  female  partner  for  life  had  left  him  in  Ver- 
mont, and  gone  off  with  some  other  person  to  some  other  place, 
—  they  called  it  dying ;  and  as  she  left  her  body  a  corpse,  they 
buried  that,  and  never  inquired  after  her  more.  The  daughters 
were  scattered  out  to  live ;  and  the  old  man,  poor  and  lonely,  had 
wandered  westward,  where,  at  Monroe,  he  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  Lone  One  ;  and  they  soon  felt  the  truth  of  the  old  adage, 
"  A  fellow-feeling  makes  us  wondrous  kind."  But  he  made  his 
fortune  in  this  claim,  and  ripened  his  years  in  wealth,  but  de- 
clined in  loneliness,  for  his  life  was  marked  with  troubles  for  which 
he  was  not  accountable.  His  kind  heart  prompted  him  to  offer 
all  he  could  of  assistance.  He  proposed  to  get  an  ox-team,  to 
bring  the  family  and  effects  to  the  prairie,  and  to  this  little  shanty, 
and  there  make  a  common  home,  until  they  could  do  better.  But 
the  Lone  One  could  not  consent  to  bring  the  feeble  mother  and 
child  to  such  a  place  and  condition,  and  in  such  a  manner.  He 
declined  the  kind  offer,  and,  with  a  sad  heart,  paced  slowly  back 
the  winding  way  to  the  partner's  quarters,  to  sadden  the  heart  of 
the  mother  with  the  news  of  their  loss,  and  to  gladden  the  face  of 
the  child,  who  had  no  care  about  it.  He  informed  the  fat  old 
householder  (he  could  not  be  called  a  landlord,  for  he  owned  no 
land,  and  was  anything  but  a  lord)  that  he  could  not  pay  the  board 
charges  more  than  a  week  without  some  means  of  obtaining  money 
to  do  it  with,  and  received,  in  return,  notice  to  leave,  as  he  must 
have  the  room  for  those  who  could  pay.  After  much  effort,  he 
obtained  a  single  room  on  the  upper  floor  of  an  unfinished  house ; 
hired  an  old  cook-stove  for  one  dollar  per  month ;  and,  with  the 
few  articles  they  had  brought  with  them,  they  tried  to  "  keep 
house ;  "  scraped  up  all  the  pocket-pieces  of  coin  and  little  sav- 
ings, and  purchased  a  barrel  of  flour  and  a  few  indispensables ; 
placed  the  bed  on  the  floor,  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  the  stove 
in  another  corner,  and  the  flour-barrel  in  another ;  and  the  two 
chairs  and  table  brought  with  them,  with  the  bureau,  —  a  gift  of 
the  red-coat  brother,  —  made  up  the  furniture  of  the  large  room. 
Almost  the  only  consolation  of  the  establishment  was  the  barrel 


82  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

of  flour,  which  they  hoped  would  last  until  some  way  should  be 
opened  to  get  more ;  but  hopes  are  often  vain,  and  "  the  way  of 
the  transgressor  is  hard  ;  "  and  they  hud  transgressed  in  getting 
married  before  their  time,  and  again  in  having  a  child,  doubly 
premature;  and  they  had  also  found  the  Bible  told  a  lie  when  it 
said  the  sin  of  ignorance  was  winked  at.  They  found  it  was  pun- 
ished as  severely  as  any.  With  this  condition  for  a  home,  he  sal- 
lied forth  in  search  of  employment,  and  occasionally,  but  seldom, 
found  a  short  job  for  which  he  could  obtain  some  kind  of  pay,  but 
never  money,  and  seldom  anything  to  feed  his  family ;  but,  as  he 
needed  almost  everything,  any  kind  of  pay  was  acceptable,  and 
any  kind  of  fuod  desirable.  When  he  could  obtain  labor,  he  could 
get  eight  or  ten  York  shillings  per  day  in  something  at  the  own- 
er's prices  ;  but  bread  and  butter,  and  all  such  necessaries,  were 
cash  articles,  and  at  prices  something  in  this  line :  Flour  went  up 
during  the  season  from  ten  to  sixteen  dollars  per  barrel,  butter  to 
fifty  cents  per  pound,  potatoes  to  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per 
bushel,  and  other  articles  in  proportion.  One  day  in  the  month 
for  stove-rent,  and  five  more  for  room-rent,  and  Sundays  to  get  up 
wood,  used  up  each  their  share  of  time;  and  time  was  his  only 
estate.  Only  a  small  portion  of  the  remainder  could  he  find  em- 
ployment with  any  kind  of  pay.  These  were  the  trial-days  of  life, 
most  severe  of  all  in  his  experience,  because  others  depended  on 
him.  What  to  do,  or  how  to  avoid  starvation-corners,  which  he 
saw  they  were  approaching  at  the  end  of  the  flour-barrel,  he  knew 
not.  He  wrote  one  or  two  letters  to  old  acquaintances,  soliciting 
aid,  and  one  to  the  magistrate  with  whom  he  had  left  store  ac- 
counts amounting  to  two  or  three  hundred  dollars.  From  him  he 
received  answer  that  enough  could  not  be  collected  to  pay  costs, 
BO  terribly  severe  were  the  monetary  affairs.  This  was  the  last  he 
ever  inquired  after  the  accounts.  From  the  other  friends  he  never 
heard,  and  probably  it  was  well ;  for  twenty-five  cents  postage  was 
more  than  he  could  afford  to  pay  for  a  letter,  and  that  was  the 
price  of  postage. 

There  was  one  other  hope  on  which  they  depended  some.     They 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  83 

had  brought  with  them  an  assortment  of  garden-seeds.  He  had 
procured  a  piece  of  ground,  highly  recommended  by  its  owner,  and 
labored  days  and  nights,  and  Sundays,  when  no  pay-labor  could  be 
obtained,  and  planted  the  seeds  and  watched  them  spring  up,  and 
waited  with  much  anxiety  the  signs  of  food  from  that  source.  But 
"  storm  after  storm  hangs  dark  o'er  the  way."  Late  in  June 
came  excessive  rains  and  cold  winds,  and  every  plant  of  his  gar- 
den, except  the  weeds,  was  drowned  or  destroyed ;  and  this  car- 
ried more  sorrow  to  the  lone  heart.  Reader,  do  you  think  he  had 
reason  to  thank  God  for  life,  and  ask  his  blessing  on  every  meal, 
and  to  believe  him  a  God  of  love,  with  especial  care  of  his  chil- 
dren ?  Or,  was  he  one  of  the  adversary's  children  ?  If  so,  he 
should  pray  to  the  devil,  for  he  certainly  ought  to  serve  and  obey 
his  parent,  if  any  being,  until  his  powers  were  equal  to  the 
parent ;  then  he  should  be  free.  But  not  free  to  serve  his  devil- 
father's  worst  enemy.  A  life  of  sorrow,  toil,  poverty,  and  trouble, 
seemed  now  before  him ;  yet,  with  untiring  energy,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  duty  of  supporting  those  dependent  on  him.  If  he 
had  been  the  wicked  man  which  sectarian  Christians  said  he  was, 
and  many  of  them  would  have  made  him  to  be,  jf  they  could,  he 
might  have  run  away,  and  left  his  dependent  wife  and  child ;  but 
the  wicked  world  could  not  make  him  wicked,  with  all  its  persecu- 
tions, for  his  soul  was  "  above,  while  in,  the  world."  Now  he 
needed  the  angel's  voice  which  whispered  to  the  poet : 

"  Hope  on  !     How  oft  the  darkest  night 

Precedes  the  fairest  day  !   • 
0,  guard  thy  soul  from  Sorrow's  blight ! 
Clouds  may  obscure  the  Day-god's  light, 
But  he  will  shine  again  as  bright 

When  they  have  passed  away. 

"  Hope  on  !     Though  Disappointment's  wing 

Above  thy  path  may  soar,  — 
Though  Slander  drive  her  rankling  sting,  — 
Though  Malice  all  her  venom  bring,  — 
Though  festering  darts  detraction  fling,  — 
Still  must  the  storm  pass  o'er. 


84  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

"  If  slave  to  Poverty  thou  art, 

Bear  bravely  with  thy  lot ; 
Though  keen  her  galling  chains  may  smart, 
Strive  still  to  rend  their  links  apart  ! 
Hope  on  !  for  the  despairing  heart 

God  surely  loveth  not 

"  Hope  on,  hope  on,  though  drear  and  dark 

Thy  future  may  appear  ! 
The  sailor  in  his  storm-tossed  bark 
Still  guides  the  helm,  and  hopes  to  mark, 
Amid  the  gloom,  some  beacon-spark 

His  dangerous  way  to  cheer. 

"  Though  wealth  take  wings,  or  friends  forsake, 

Be  not  by  grief  oppressed  ; 
Stern  winter  binds  with  ice  the  lake, 
But  genial  spring  its  bonds  shall  break. 
Hope  on  !    A  firmer  purpose  take, 

And  leave  to  God  the  rest." 

We  have  been  more  particular  in  this  part  of  our  narrative, 
because  the  Lone  One  was  nearing,  and  now  about  to  pass,  the  peri- 
helion of  his  life-orbit,  in  which  he  and  his  family  were  nearly  con- 
sumed by  the  devouring  elements  of  conflict  and  antagonism  which 
make  up  the  life  of  competition  in  civilization.  How  deeply  little 
incidents  stamp  themselves  on  the  memory-canvas  when  they  occur 
in  the  trial-hours  of  life  !  The  long  and  heated  days  of  July 
were  slowly  passing.  The  flour  was  fast  lowering  in  the  barrel, 
being  almost  the  only  food.  The  search  for  labor  was  often  in 
vain,  and,  when  found,  was  only  of  the  hardest  kind,  with  poorest 
pay,  as  is  the  custom  in  our  Christian  society,  where  even  religion 
is  inverted. 

Again  the  tightening  cords  of  oppression  were  to  be  twisted, 
and  the  house-owner  notified  the  tenant  to  vacate  the  room,  for  he 
was  to  open  a  tavern  in  a  few  days,  and  should  need  the  rooms. 
After  much  effort  and  long  searching,  he  obtained  a  claim-shanty 
from  a  Canada  land  speculator,  who,  with  little  money  and  much 
skill,  had  secured  a  claim-title  to  a  portion  of  what  is  now  the 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  85 

city  of  Kcnoslia,  which  finally  changed  his  condition  from  poverty 
to  riches,  and  became  a  complete  stumbling-block  to  the  develop- 
ment of  his  only  son.  This  claim-shanty,  for  which  the  Lone 
One  was  to  pay  one  day's  labor  each  week  as  rent,  had  a  hole  in 
the  ground  for  a  foundation  and  cellar,  and  one  room  about  twelve 
feet  square,  with  one  window  and  one  door,  and  a  rude  ladder 
for  stairs  to  lead  up  to  the  chamber  with  its  loose  floor,  and  a  roof 
so  near  that  your  head  was  ever  in  danger  of  contact  with  the 
projecting  nails. 

A  few  loads  on  the  wheelbarrow  completed  the  moving  of  all 
but  the  stove.  This  the  wealthy  owner  could  not  afford  to  let  at 
one  dollar  per  month  any  longer,  for  it  would  then  sell  for  near 
twenty  dollars ;  but  the  Devil  provides  for  his  infidel  children,  in 
such  trials,  about  as  well  as  God  does  for  his  Christians,  and  the 
stove-place  was  supplied  by  one  which  was  purchased  of  a  keen, 
speculating  trader,  who  agreed  to  take  hay  for  the  pay ;  and  as 
the  United  States  had  plenty  of  grass  near  by  the  village,  the 
cautious  child  of  poverty  dared  to  promise  the  pay,  for  the  United 
States  owed  him  for  fighting  service  of  his  father. 

He  had  fairly  settled  in  his  new  residence,  and  paid  several 
weeks'  rent,  always  boarding  himself  (for  in  those  times  board  was 
an  essential  item  in  all  contracts  for  laborers,  and  the  laborers 
seldom  got  a  meal  from  the  employers),  when  the  flour-barrel  was 
empty,  and  the  stove-owner  called  for  his  pay  to  the  amount  of 
twenty-five  dollars,  which  could  not  be  paid  by  less  than  twenty 
or  twenty-five  days'  labor  in  good  hay-making  weather.  Reader, 
what  would  you  have  done?  —  Pray?  —  what  for?  —  to  whom? — 
would  he  answer?  —  how?  True,  he  could  collect  some  kinds 
of  food  to  prevent  starving,  if  his  time  was  at  his  own  disposal ; 
but  now  five  or  six  weeks  must  be  devoted  to  paying  for  the  stove. 
But,  "  What  shall  we  eat  ?  "  said  a  female  voice.  —  "  Let 's  take 
account  of  stock,"  replied  the  Lone  One.  —  "  Where  shall  we  be- 
gin ?  "  said  the  woman  of  tears  to  the  man  of  sorrows.  —  "  With 
the  beans."  —  "Enough  for  three  or  four  meals."  —  "Salt."  — 
"Half  a  peck."  —  "Good  supply,  that.  Let's  ask  a  blessing 


86  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE. 

over  it,"  said  he,  trying  to  cheer  up  her  heart.  —  "0,  don't  be  too 
sacrilegious  !  Maybe  some  Christian  will  help  us,  if  you  don't  scare 
them  oft"."  —  "Christian!  I  should  like  to  see  one,  this  side  of 
the  land  where  no  Christians  thirst  for  gold."  — "  Well,  what 
next  ?  "  —  "  Tea."  —  "  The  tea,  and  coffee,  and  sugar,  which  we 
brought  with  us,  are  all  nearly  out,  —  may  last  two  weeks.  But 
we  cannot  have  any  more  milk  of  K.'s  folks ;  so  your  coffee  will 
not  be  very  palatable.  Spices  and  such  things  we  have  some,  but 
no  use  for  them.  There  is  pork  enough  for  you  three  or  four 
meals,  and  rice  enough  for  Bob  about  a  week,  and  that 's  all." 

She  had  not  eaten  meat  nor  drank  coffee  for  some  years,  and 
never  did  after  she  began  to  live  this  narrative,  and  this  was  one 
cause  of  social  inharmony.  Physically  she  was  his  superior  in 
purity  and  refinement,  her  body  being  above  that  excited  and  irri- 
table condition  in  which  his  was  kept  by  coffee,  pork,  and  tobacco  ; 
for,  like  all  who  use  tobacco,  he  could  manage  to  keep  a  supply 
of  the  filthy  weed,  however  poorly  he  lived.  Smoking  he  thought 
did  help  to  drown  trouble,  but  little  did  he  think  it  only  helped  to 
make  it.  "  What  can  I  eat?  If  I  eat  Bob's  rice,  it  will  not  last 
us  but  two  or  three  days,  and  then  he  '11  starve,  for  you  know  he 
cannot  eat  anything  but  bread  and  rice."  Potatoes  had  been  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  and  had  not  found  their  way 
often  into  this  family.  "  Well,  that 's  all ;  now  what  shall  we  do  ?" 
"  Flour  is  sixteen  dollars  per  barrel,  and  they  will  not  sell  less  than 
a  barrel ;  and  if  they  would,  we  have  no  money,  and  I  could  not 
get  a  pound  of  flour  nor  a  dollar  of  money  for  labor,  and  I  must 
get  up  the  hay  for  that  stove,  now,  or  give  up  the  stove." — "Well, 
if  we  have  nothing  to  cook,  we  shall  not  want  the  stove  long." 

His  labor  had  already  supplied  him  with  haying-tools  and  a 
small  note  of  ten  or  twelve  dollars,  against  a  good  man,  payable 
in  produce  aficr  harvest.  This  he  vainly  tried  to  exchange  for 
flour  or  meal,  and  finally  for  other  food ;  but  all  efforts  failed,  till 
he  went  to  the  debtor  and  told  him  his  situation,  and  asked  advice. 
The  man  was  his  friend,  and  sympathized  with  him ;  he  was  him- 
eelf  poor,  but  had  a  good  claim,  and  improvements,  and  a  fair 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  87 

prospect  of  competence,  if  not  of  wealth.  He  had  a  field  of  po- 
tatoes planted  early,  and  quite  forward,  and  he  gave  the  Lone 
One  permission  to  use  them  as  soon  as  they  would  answer  to  dig 
and  measure,  as  he  wanted  them,  and  pay  the  market  price,  on  the 
note.  On  examining  them,  he  found  they  were  about  half  grown, 
and  would  answer  to  eat  with  salt  (not  butter,  for  butter  was  a 
luxury  for  the  few). 

"  Another  streak  of  good  mck,"  said  he,  as  he  landed  the  peck 
of  half-grown  potatoes  on  the  floor.  "  You  see  Providence  always 
provides  for  us.  Ought  we  not  to  thank  Providence  now?" — 
"Perhaps  we  ought;  it  might  be  worse  with  us  than  it  is;  very 
likely  some  people  suffer  more  than  we  do."  —  "  Well,  then,  I 
suppose  they  have  more  reason  to  be  thankful ;  but  I  wish  I  was 
Providence  a  little  while.  I  'd  make  everybody  happy,  and  have 
one  jubilee  of  joy  and  thanksgiving ;  but  this  Christian  Provi- 
dence seems  to  have  no  pity  for  the  poor  and  suffering  part  of  our 
race."  —  "  We  shall  not  starve,  shall  we?  But  I  know  these  will 
make  me  sick,  and  I  dare  not  give  them  to  Bob  to  eat,  for  you 
know  we  have  eat  nothing  but  bread  so  long,  and  this  hot  weather 
I  fear  we  shall  all  be  sick."  —  "'No,  we  shall  not  be  sick;  that 
terrible  time  we  had  on  the  lakes  will  save  us  this  year  from  more 
sickness."  —  "Well,  maybe  so,  but  I  will  save  the  rice  for  Bob, 
and  give  him  potatoes  once  or  twice  a  day."  —  "Salt  them  well, 
and  we  can  all  stand  it  till  some  change  betters  our  condition  ; 
then  we  will  thank  Providence,  or  anybody  else  that  helps  us."  — 
"  You  '11  forget  it,  then ;  for  you  never  think  much  about  Provi- 
dence, except  when  we  are  in  trouble."  —  "  That  is  the  time  I 
need  his  help,  if  ever ;  for  '  a  friend  in  need  is  a  friend  indeed,' 
and  certainly  we  are  in  need,  and  now  I  should  like  to  see  some 
of  the  kindness  the  Christians  tell  so  much  about."  —  "  But  that 
only  comes  to  Christians."  —  "  0,  I  thought  He  was  no  respecter 
of  persons.  I  cannot  be  a  Christian,  but  I  might  be  a  hypocrite, 
and  pretend  it;  but  I  could  not  cheat  Providence,  I  suppose,  and 
I  guess  that  is  the  reason  He  neglects  so  many  who  pretend  to  be 
Christians."  —  "  Well,  I  don't  view  these  things  as  I  used  to,  but 


88  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

I  know  mother  would  think  we  wore  dreadful  wicked,  and  that 
God  would  not  bless  us  in  our  sins."  —  "  Would  she  think  Him 
angry  ?  "  —  "  Perhaps  so,  but  she  is  honest  in  her  belief." —  "  Of 
course,  but  that  does  not  make  it  true.  Well,  if  he  is  angry  at  me, 
I  cannot  help  it.  I  guess  he  will  not  strike  me  dead ;  and,  if  ho 
does,  I  do  not  care,  if  he  will  only  take  care  of  you  and  Bob." 
—  "  Don't  talk  so  ;  let 's  go  to  sleep." 

The  bed,  the  stove,  the  table,  and  two  chairs,  with  a  stool  or 
two  for  themselves,  when  they  had  visitors,  made  up  the  furniture, 
with  a  packing-box  made  into  a  cupboard.  The  last  effort  to 
obtain  flour  had  failed,  by  reporting  honestly  his  condition,  and 
offering  any  property  he  possessed  (except  his  wife,  for  the  law, 
or  priest,  made  him  have  property  in  her),  and  any  amount  of 
labor,  or  money  when  he  could  obtain  it.  He  only  received  in 
reply,  "  Our  flour  is  sold  on  commission,  and  only  by  the  barrel, 
sir;  we  can't  accommodate  you."  Day  after  day,  week  after 
week,  the  morning  and  evening  meals  were  made  up  for  the  family 
of  the  new  potatoes  boiled  and  well  salted,  and  sometimes  accom- 
panied by  little  turnips,  greens,  &c.  The  same  article  was  car- 
ried to  the  hay-field  for  his  dinner,  to  which  he  walked  near  three 
miles  to  his  daily  toil,  and  returned  at  night  weary  and  lonely, 
but  encouraged,  for  he  was  paying  for  the  stove,  and  should  soon 
own  it ;  and  with  this  bright  prospect  he  tried  to  encourage  his 
wife,  and  she  tried  to  enjoy  it  with  him.  But  poverty  was  a 
severe  trial  for  her,  and  this  her  first  trial,  but  not  his  first. 

Many  will  say  he  should  have  avoided  this.  So  he  should.  But, 
"  only  think  if  yours  had  been  like  his,  a  cheerless  life,"  how 
could  you  have  known  the  dangerous  way  to  steer  better  than  he 
did?  But  the  severest  and  most  touching  trial  of  poverty  had 
now  arrived  and  taken  lodgings  with  the  Lone  One.  "  Behold 
me  — I  am  Famine."  The  rice  was  exhausted,  and  the  potatoes 
did  make  the  feeble  child  sick,  and  his  pale  and  quivering  lip, 
accompanied  by  the  imploring  look  of  a  keen  bright  eye  full  of 
tears,  morning  and  evening,  would  entreatingly  beg  of  the  father, 
"  papa,  —  cake,  cake !  "  as  the  significant  finger  would  point  to  the 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  89 

cupboard.  The  salt  and  potatoes,  forced  down  by  hunger,  gave 
him  a  summer  complaint,  and  his  appetite  rebelled  against  the 
only  food  his  parents  had  to  give  him.  The  tears  of  the  parents 
could  not  explain  to  the  child  why  he  could  not  have  bread;  but 
the  mother's  heart,  under  the  constant  and  imploring  entreaty  of 
her  child,  gave  up  the  last  spark  of  pride  for  the  time,  and  she 
went  to  the  claim-owner  and  begged  for  the  child  bread.  And 
another  kind  lady,  the  feeble  but  beloved  wife  of  another  claim- 
holder,  learned  the  condition  of  this  child,  and  (she  loved  chil- 
dren, but  had  none)  she  sent  it  a  little  milk  almost  every  day ; 
and  still  another  lady,  of  the  house  where  they  had  lived,  had 
sympathy  (and  needed  it  too  almost  as  much  as  this  poor  mother), 
and  sent  a  little  flour  and  butter,  and  thus  they,  or  rather  the 
boy,  was  a  charity  student  in  a  civilized  world  of  experience. 

The  weeks  passed  by,  the  potatoes  grew  better,  the  stove  was 
paid  for,  and  they  rejoiced  over  the  acquisition  of  this  necessary 
article.  Haying-time  lasted  till  late  in  autumn,  and  the  Lone 
One  cut  more  than  fifty  tons  of  hay,  which,  after  paying  for  the 
stove,  the  rest  was  used  to  obtain  other  articles  of  necessity  or 
use,  and  usually  brought  him  about  one  and  a  half  or  two  dollars 
per  ton  on  the  meadow  when  ready  to  load  on  wagons.  Pie  could 
usually  put  up  a  ton  in  a  good  fair  day,  and  walk  to  and  from 
the  meadow  owned  by  God,  of  whom  United  States  was  the  agent 
in  possession,  with  a  kind  of  squatter-claim  agent  under  him ;  and 
they  managed,  I  believe,  at  last,  to  cheat  God  entirely  out  of  the 
title,  and  got  full  ownership  themselves,  without  a  title  from  Him. 
Before  haying  was  over  the  harvesting  began.  Grain  yielded 
well,  and  flour  was  reduced  in  price  and  plenty,  and  the  family 
were  supplied  a  good  share  of  the  time  with  bread  for  labor 
or  other  exchange.  But  money  was  still  almost  out  of  the 
market.  This  life-trial  was  borne  by  the  wife  and  mother  with  a 
patience  and  fortitude  well  worthy  her  New  England  ancestry, 
which  proved  that  the  stories  of  her  grandmother's  trials  and 
hardships  had  not  been  told  her  in  vain.  She  did  not  spend 
her  time  murmuring  or  fault-finding,  but  patiently  waited  and 
8* 


90  LIFE-LINE    OF   TUE   LONE    ONE. 

labored  for  a  better  condition,  seeking  and  sometimes  finding 
some  light  work  she  could  perform  for  others  when  she  had  none 
for  her  own  family.  The  Lone  One  had  been  schooled  in  poverty, 
and  of  course  could  bear  it ;  for  he  had  himself  cried  to  a  poor 
mother  for  bread  and  cake  when  her  scanty  pay  could  not  furnish 
it,  and  when  so  few  among  those  abundantly  able  would  employ  a 
woman  who  had  a  child  to  feed.  The  cough  and  disease  seemed 
to  relax  their  hold  on  the  wife,  in  this  hard  trial,  as  they  did  in 
several  others.  She  seemed  to  beat  the  waves  of  misfortune  with 
increasing  force.  Every  dark  clcud  must  pass  along ;  every 
darker  night  must  yield  to  dawn ;  each  tightening  grip  of  poverty 
or  hunger  must  relax,  and  let  the  sufferer  feed  at  last  on  earthly 
or  celestial  food.  These  were  the  days  when  small  favors  were 
thankfully  received;  and  a  few  such  were  recorded  then,  not 
soon  to  be  forgotten ;  and  perhaps  such  trials  are  to  some  extent 
necessary  to  enable  us  to  fully  appreciate  the  kindnesses  of  life. 

"  .  .  .  In  youth's  unclouded  morn, 
We  gaze  on  friendship  as  a  graceful  flower, 
And  win  it  for  our  pleasure  or  our  pride  ; 
But  when  the  stern  realities  of  life 
Do  clip  the  wings  of  fancy,  and  cold  storms 
Rack  the  worn  cordage  of  the  heart,  it  breathes 
A  healing  essence,  and  a  strengthening  charm, 
Next  to  the  hope  of  heaven." 

"  For  when  the  power  of  imparting  joy 
Is  equal  to  the  will,  the  human  soul 
Requires  no  other  heaven." 

SECTION  VI. 

ANOTHER   TURN. 

Did  you  hear  "  old  Satan,  that  arch  traitor  who  rules  the 
burning  lake,"  say,  "  Turn  the  spit,  Jack,"  and  give  the  Lone 
One  another  change  ?  Did  you  ever  read  the  story  about  his 
chat  with  God,  which  occurred  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  his  visits 
to  the  kingdom  with  the  saints,  about  one  servant  of  God,  called 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  91 

Job,  and  what  followed  ?  That  accounts  for  the  introduction  of 
boils  and  whirlwinds,  if  not  for  all  other  evils  that  afflict  us  "  to 
this  day."  You  will  find  it  in  the  Jewish  classics.  October 
browned  the  autumn  leaves,  and  the  frosts  changed  the  greens  of 
the  earth  to  brown  ;  the  prairie-fires  were  pipe-lighted  on  many 
of  the  rolls  of  the  rolling  prairies.  The  hole  in  the  earth  under 
the  shanty  of  the  Lone  One  was  well  filled  with  potatoes,  and  tur- 
nips, and  cabbage,  and  pumpkins,  and  the  garret  had  corn  and 
dried  pumpkin.  The  poor  family  were  congratulating  themselves 
on  the  prospect  of  wintering  without  starving,  when,  on  a  cold 
November  morning,  the  stern  old  Cannuck  owner  came  in  and  told 
them  he  was  sorry  to  disturb  them,  but  he  had  sold  the  shanty  to 
a  man  from  Chicago,  who  had  gone  after  his  family,  and  would  be 
there  in  a  week  to  take  possession,  and  they  must  be  out  of  the 
way.  0,  how  little  those  families  who  have  homes  of  their  own 
know  of  this  terrible  infliction  —  being  turned  out  of  homes,  with 
no  money  to  hire  others,  and  no  others  to  hire,  both  of  which 
evils  were  now  realized.  Reader,  did  you  ever  disturb  a  little 
animal  with  its  winter  supply  of  food,  and  rob  it  of  all  its  depend- 
ence ?  If  you  have,  an  experience  like  this  would  prevent  you 
from  ever  doing  it  again ;  and  by  it  you  may  learn  why  the  Lone 
One  ever  after,  if  not  before,  had  such  a  sacred  regard  for  the 
homes  of  the  poor,  both  of  man  and  beast. 

"  Man  was  born  into  the  world  poor,  naked,  and  bare  ; 
And  his  progress  all  through  it  is  trouble  and  care  ; 
And  liis  exit  from  out  it  is  no  one  knows  where  ; 
But,  if  well  he  does  here,  't  will  be  well  with  him  there  ; 
And  no  more  could  I  tell  you  by  preaching  a  year." 

No  other  jvigwam  could  be  found  unoccupied  in  all  the  region 
round  about,  and  the  family,  whom  poverty  had  made  friendless, 
were  compelled  to  engage  board  at  the  house  where  they  once 
occupied  a  room.  The  little  store  of  eatables  was  sold  for  enough 
to  pay  for  three  or  four  weeks'  board ;  and  there,  in  prospect,  was 
again  the  end  of  the  fortune-rope.  For  the  best  season  of  labor 


92  LIFE-LINE    OF  THE  LONE    ONE. 

was  at  a  close,  and  nearly  all  the  settlers  lived  during  winter,  and 
most  of  them  the  whole  year  round,  by  speculating  on  lots,  and 
prospects,  and  on  one  another.  In  this  the  victim  of  poverty 
could  not  engage ;  for  he  was  too  cautious  to  even  purchase  on 
long  credit  a  claim  to  one  or  more  lots  in  the  village,  which  he 
might  safely  have  done,  had  he  known  the  prospects  of  the  place. 
"  Another  streak  of  good  luck  !  "  exclaimed  he  to  his  mate,  as  he 
came  in,  one  day.  "  I  have  turned  pedagogue,  and  engaged  to 
teach  the  village  school,  for  which  I  shall  receive  enough  to  pny 
our  board."  This  was  secured  by  the  aid  of  the  landlord,  who  no 
doubt  found  interest  and  charity  combined.  The  first  schools  in 
a  newly-settled  country  are  usually  the  rudest  and  worst  to  teach ; 
not  requiring  in  teachers  much  education,  but  much  patience,  and 
more  mental  discipline,  self-control,  and  power  to  control  others. 
In  this  school  the  preceding  teachers  had  allowed  the  larger  boys 
to  govern  themselves,  and  mostly  the  school  also ;  but  the  new 
teacher  determined  to  have  order  and  discipline  such  as  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  see  in  New  England,  and  he  began  with  the 
largest  and  most  unruly,  who  were  not  accustomed  to  being  con- 
trolled at  home  or  in  school,  and  of  course  rebelled  at  this  author- 
ity, entered  complaints  that  he  was  too  strict,  did  not  pray  in 
school,  nor  make  them  read  in  the  Bible.  The  ready  tongues  of 
two  or  three  pious  mothers  and  their  unruly  boys  soon  made  a 
commotion  ;  and  although  the  trustees  sustained  him,  and  wished 
him  to  continue,  he  declined  and  left  the  school,  rather  than  have 
two  or  three  large  boys  who  needed  most  the  school  taken  out  by 
their  pious  mothers.  This  was  the  first  and  last  time  he  ever 
found  himself  opposed  by  females,  and  even  some  of  these  became 
afterwards  his  warm  friends,  when  he  had  gained  the  public  title 
of  Ladies'  Advocate ;  for  he  was  organically  and  instinctively 
a  "  ladies'  man,"  and  became  more  and  more  so  as  his  life  opened 
and  ripened,  and  in  riper  years  so  much  so  as  to  excite  the  jeal- 
ousy and  envy  of  many  sensual  and  selfish  minds,  and  array  them 
against  him  as  enemies,  because  the  ladies  loved  or  esteemed  him 
more  than  themselves. 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE  LONE    ONE.  93 

The  snow-storms  had  sprinkled  the  frozen  flakes  over  the  prai- 
ries. Thirty-eight  was  in  his  dotage ;  had  made  his  will,  and  was 
about  to  depart  to  the  region  of  the  "  home-wind,"  and  be  suc- 
ceeded by  his  next  of  kin  in  numerical  order.  All  day,  with  rifle, 
had  the  Lone  One  wandered  o'er  hill  and  valley,  in  pursuit  of 
deer,  with  only  tracks  for  game,  when  cold  and  hunger  .and 
approaching  night  bade  him  return  home.  It  was  far  away. 
Snows  were  troublesome  to  his  weary  limbs,  the  mercury  was 
falling,  and  darkness  stealing  over  the  earth,  as  drowsiness  was 
over  his  brain ;  but  caution  was  aroused,  and  informed  the  intellect 
that  it  was  the  signal  of  death.  Pauguk  was  looking  at  him,  but 
he  was  not  ready  to  go  to  the  "  Islands  of  the  Blessed,"  and  leave 
a  widow  and  orphan  destitute,  and  among  strangers.  By  extraor- 
linary  efforts,  by  rubbing  his  face  and  limbs  with  snow,  he  at  length 
iid  succeed  in  reaching  home,  where  the  warm  room  soon  brought 
fainting  and  intense  suffering,  from  which,  by  the  aid  of  brandy  and 
friction  mixed,  he  at  last  recovered,  and  then  realized  more  fully 
the  near  approach  he  had  made  to  "  death's  door."  The  experi- 
ence of  that  day  lasted  until  he  left  the  school  of  hunters,  which 
occurred  a  few  years  after,  when  his  soul  had  become  too  sensi- 
tive to  murder  such  animals  as  are  usually  killed  for  game ;  and 
then  he  was  glad  his  history  had  never  been  stained  by  the  murder 
of  a  single  deer,  although  the  blood  of  much  other  game  cried  from 
the  ground  against  him,  as  Abel's  did  against  Cain. 

In  the  midst  of  the  holidays  the  stove  and  scanty  furniture  were 
loaded  on  a  wagon,  and,  with  their  legal  owner,  carted  about  three 
miles  from  the  village,  into  the  thick  wood,  and  landed  in  an  old, 
dirty  log-house,  near  a  saw-mill  with  a  broken  dam.  The  team 
returned,  and  left  the  owner  to  watch  all  night  with  the  goods  and 
the  ghosts  of  the  departed  former  occupants.  The  rats,  probably 
Bupperless  as  the  intruder,  seemed  anxious  to  pry  into  the  new 
furniture,  and  had  to  be  often  silenced  by  the  voice  or  tread  of  the 
watcher.  He  had  no  lights,  and  the  teamster  could  not  stay  to 
assist  in  putting  up  the  stove.  It  was  one  of  those  long  nights 
that  seem  almost  endless,  when  we  are  hungry,  cold,  sleepless,  and 


94  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

alone,  in  the  dark.  Even  the  rats  were  better  than  no  company, 
especially  when  "  a  fellow-feeling  makes  us  wondrous  kind."  Next 
day  the  team  returned  with  the  rest  of  the  family,  and  the  old- 
bachelor  partner,  and  a  supply  of  provisions  advanced  to  the  part- 
ners on  a  job  of  cutting  saw-logs  for  the  mill,  which  they  were  to 
repair  and  run  on  shares,  when  it  should  thaw  out.  As  this  home 
was  the  centre  of  some  important  events  in  the  life-history,  and  the 
birth-place  of  an  only  daughter,  now  grown  to  womanhood  and  a 
classical  scholar,  I  should  like  to  present  the  reader  a  picture  of 
it ;  but  my  book  must  go  into  market  without  pictures.  It  was 
made  of  logs,  and  capacious,  with  only  one  good  thing  about  it  — 
a  good  roof.  It  had  two  windows,  but  needed  none  for  light  or 
air,  until  after  the  partners  thawed  the  mud  and  plastered  the 
cracks  on  the  outside.  The  floor  was  easily  taken  up  at  any  time, 
to  recover  the  tongs,  and  spoons,  and  feet,  which  Bob  often  dropped 
through  it ;  and  also  to  drive  out  the  rats,  which  for  a  time  dis- 
puted possession  of  the  basement.  The  chamber  was  made  to 
sleep  in,  or  on ;  and  if  you  wished  to  keep  the  occupants  up  there, 
you  could  easily  take  the  ladder  down.  The  bachelor  partner  was 
a  joiner,  and  the  house  was  soon  "  fixed  up,"  and  housekeeping 
under  way. 

The  house  stood  on  an  elevated  ground,  and  overlooked  the 
mill  and  pond,  —  when  there  was  one,  —  with  a  garden  and  small 
meadow  in  the  rear,  where  the  woods  had  been  driven  back.  A 
small  clearing  on  the  rich  bottom-land  below  was  also  used  for 
garden  and  corn.  On  these  grounds,  the  garden,  allowed  with 
the  tenement,  furnished  abundant  pay  for  the  labor  bestowed  on  it 
by  the  Lone  One  for  the  two  seasons  he  resided  there.  Day  after 
day  the  bachelor,  and  he  who  ought  to  have  been  one,  started 
early,  carried  dinner,  and  returned  late,  as  they  cut  and  counted 
saw-logs  ;  but  it  paid  well,  for  they  could  earn  near  three  dollars 
per  day,  and,  as  they  shared  equally  in  expenses,  they  could  save 
near  one  dollar  per  day  each.  But  the  job  was  short,  and  soon 
came  warm  days,  and  work  on  the  mill,  etc. 

"  Shall  we  damn  the  dam  to-day  ?  "  said  the  Frenchman,  Louis, 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  95 

who,  with  Peter,  boarded  at  the  house  several  weeks  while  they 
chopped  cord-wood,  except  when  Peter  eat  coon-meat  for  break- 
fast, and  went  up  a  tree  to  sleep. 

"  Yes,  damn  the  dam  !  "  said  the  bachelor,  as  breach  after 
breach  was  made  and  repaired,  and  the  mill  running  about  one 
day  in  four  or  six.  A  few  weeks  were  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
bachelor,  for  he  had  no  pets  to  cry  for  bread,  and  he  proposed  to 
take  his  share  of  the  pay  for  chopping,  and  "  put  out ;  "  and  so  he 
did,  and  that  was  the  last  and  least  they  saw  of  him,  for  he  went 
to  the  prairie-land  of  Indiana,  took  a  wife,  and  engaged  in 
raising  babies.  Louis  and  Peter  also  departed  for  their  Canada 
home  ;  the  stream  dried  up,  and  the  never-lasting  dam  staid,  when 
the  water  was  gone,  as  they  fixed  it. 

During  the  little  jobs  of  sawing  he  secured  in  his  share  some  lum- 
ber for  a  small  house,  and  bargained  for  a  lot  in  the  village,  —  about 
half  an  acre  of  land,  —  and  agreed  to  pay  in  lumber.  The  good 
man  of  whom  he  purchased  lengthened  out  the  time  for  payment, 
and  only  asked  for  promises,  and  interest  yearly,  till  it  could  be 
paid.  The  summer  crowded  along,  and  the  Lone  One  often  trav- 
elled two  or  three  miles  to  do  his  day's  work,  and  back  at  night,  to 
the  home  where  the  mate  was  passing  terrible  days  of  trial  and 
suffering,  watched  and  aided  by  an  excellent  little  French  woman, 
who  had  moved  into  a  small  frame-house  near  by  the  log  one,  and 
owned  by  the  mill-owners  also,  but  which  the  Lone  One  was  too 
poor  to  obtain  with  the  mill ;  for  the  greater  our  necessities, 
the  less  favored  we  are.  The  long,  hot  days  had  not  all  passed, 
when  the  physician  had  to  be  called,  and  the  maid  hired,  and  the 
baby  cried.  Another  unwelcome  intruder,  to  be  fed  and  clothed 
from  the  scanty  fare.  0,  the  ignorance  of  poor,  and  rich,  hus- 
bands and  wives,  in  this  bigoted  Christian  land  !  It  is  deplora- 
ble !  Not  half,  or  even  one  fourth,  of  the  babes  are  distributed 
where  they  are  needed  and  desired ;  and  yet  enlightened  Christians 
are  continually  prating  about  God's  mysterious  providences  in 
such  matters,  as  if  God  had  more  to  do  with  it  than  we  have, 
when  the  parties  are  priest-tied.  Several  works  recently  pub- 


96  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

lishcd  by  H.  C.  Wright,  T.  L.  Nichols,  A.  J.  Davis,  Fowlers,  etc., 
will  do  more  to  remove  suffering,  and  enlighten  minds  on  the  most 
important  subject  of  this  life,  than  all  the  religious  books  of  the  last 
half-century ;  and  every  family  too  poor  to  purchase  any  book  should 
apply  for  a  Bible  to  the  Society,  and  exchange  it  for  Davis's  fourth 
volume  of  Harmonia,  or  H.  C.  Wright  on  marriage  and  parentage. 
If  there  could  be  a  society  formed  to  supply  these  and  other 
works  of  a  kindred  nature  to  every  family,  and  especially  every 
newly-married  couple,  it  would  do  thrice  the  good  of  any  Bible 
Society,  and  the  beneficial  effects  would  be  at  once  felt  and  last- 
ing. But  we  must  return  to  the  cabin  —  not  to  live,  "  thank  the 
stars." 

The  mother  slowJy  recovered,  the  child  was  well,  and  the  poor 
little  sickly  boy  —  0,  reader  !  could  you  once  have  a  look  at,  or 
picture  of,  that  family,  and  this  object  of  pity  !  "  There,"  said 
she,  "  I  hope  now  we  are  done  raisin'  babies."  The  fall  winds  and 
rains  came,  and  the  mill  did  run  some,  but  the  dam  run  more,  and 
trial  after  trial  came  backing  down,  until  one  of  the  owners  really 
believed  it  was  bewitched ;  but  he  was  pious,  and  afterward  be- 
came a  preacher,  so  he  had  a  right  to  believe  in  witches.  Winter 
came  slowly  along,  and  the  garden  crops,  and  day  wages,  and  the 
little  lumber,  all  economically  appropriated,  enabled  the  poor  fam- 
ily to  live  until  spring  brought  the  fish  in  the  stream,  and  more 
water  and  work  on  the  dam.  In  the  deep  cold  winter  the  feeble 
boy  came  near  a  change  of  homes,  one  severe  cold  night,  which 
greatly  cooled  after  bedtime.  He  was  bedded,  as  usual,  on  his 
sacking  creek,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  from  his  parents, 
with  perhaps  two  or  three  thicknesses  of  quilt  under  and  over 
him.  Toward  morning,  one  or  both  the  parents  were  awakened  by 
some  unseen,  unheard  agency,  and  directed  to  the  noiseless  boy. 
The  father  was  soon  by  the  boy.  He  was  cold,  and  not  a  warm 
spot  in  the  clothes  where  he  lay,  nor  on  his  body,  save  about  the 
vitals.  He  was  instantly  transferred  to  the  other  bed,  and  after  a 
long  time  became  warm,  and  awakened  ;  but  there  was  never  a 
doubt  in  the  parents'  minds  that  he  would  have  been  borne  away 


LIFE-LINE    OP  THE    LONE    ONE.  97 

iu  the  sleep  to  the  land,  or  world,  of  dead  children,  but  for  the 
agency  that  awakened  them.  One  notice  of  this  kind  was  sufficient 
for  the  blended  life-line  of  the  family.  Thirty-nine  went  noise- 
lessly out,  and  Forty  —  of  hard  cider  notoriety  —  came  noiselessly 
into  power.  At  the  cabin  the  hard  could  be  found,  but  not  any 
cider.  Wisconsin  was  a  minor,  and  had  no  vote ;  she  raised  no 
cider,  and  had  no  need  to  import  any.  They  survived  the  frosts 
and  sufferings  of  the  winter,  and  came  out,  as  usual,  "  spring  poor/' 
It  was  probably  the  poverty  and  hard  times  that  kept  the  wife 
alive ;  for  she  was  too  poor  to  die,  and  they  were  too  poor  to  have 
a  funeral,  and  fate  designed  they  should  each  of  them  have  one, 
and  a  meeting  of  real  friends,  not  a  few,  on  such  occasions.  One 
principle  of  philosophy  always  bore  her  up,  namely,  "  All  that  is, 
is  for  the  best." 

Again,  in  the  spring  of  Forty,  the  snows  and  rains  run  both  mill 
and  dam,  but,  by  often  working  eighteen  hours  out  of  each  day,  he 
had  sawed  lumber  enough  to  fence  his  lot,  and  sufficient  for  a 
small  house,  of  such  kinds  as  grew  in  that  forest  where  there 
were  no  pines  or  hemlocks,  and  had  paid  nearly  half  the  price  of 
the  lot.  Every  such  little  success  encouraged  him  to  renewed 
action.  Again  the  garden  was  planted  and  flourished,  and  again 
work  for  wages  on  the  dam,  and  elsewhere,  supplied  the  family 
scantily  with  food  and  clothes ;  for  by  this  time  even  the  wedding 
clothes  were  worn  out,  with  nearly  all  of  the  good  supply  brought 
with  them. 

The  elder  sister,  with  her  consumptive  husband,  had  by  that 
time  arrived  from  Michigan,  and  also  a  box  of  goods  from  the 
mother  of  the  sister,  whose  liberality  was  fully  equal  to  her 
ability.  At  the  close  of  the  fall  term,  the  Lone  One  resolved 
to  leave  the  mill  and  cabin,  and  seek  some  other  home.  Half- 
way to  the  village  was  a  pious  Methodist  farmer,  for  whom  he 
often  labored,  and  who  was  scrupulously  honest,  for  he  believed  in 
hell,  and  in  his  religion,  and  feared  both  God  and  the  devil.  The 
old  man  lived  and  raised  his  large  family  in  a  log  cabin,  but  had 
a  large  farm  and  plenty  of  provision.  He  had  put  up  a  wagon- 
9 


98  LIFE-LINE    OF  THH    LONE    ONE. 

house,  with  large  doors  in  the  cold  end,  that  faced  the  home  of 
the  west  wind.  This  he  proposed  to  patch  with  boards  on  the  out- 
side, and  with  papers  inside,  put  up  a  ladder  for  stairs,  and  take 
them  in  as  tenants,  till  they  could  do  better.  So  they  did,  and 
did  better  as  soon  as  possible,  but  not  till  a  year  had  been  spent 
there  as  a  home,  in,  not  quite  the  hog-pen,  but  wagon-house.  It 
was  while  they  lived  in  this  house  that  the  family  reared,  fattened, 
and  slaughtered  the  one,  and  the  only  one  hog  they  ever  did  or 
ever  will  feed  or  own. 

This  was  not  the  only  event  of  importance  that  occurred  at  the 
wagon-house  station,  for  here  in  '41,  about  two  years  after  the 
birth  of  the  daughter,  God,  or  somebody  else,  sent  along  the 
doctor,  and,  probably  by  mistake,  left  a  boy  at  the  wagon-house ; 
but  this  fine  boy  was  such  an  improvement  on  the  other  that  she 
was  not  very  sorry,  for  everybody  praised  this  boy,  but  did  not 
consider  the  other  worth  praising.  This  summer  a  schooner  bore 
the  Lone  One  down  the  lake  into  Green  Bay,  and  to  the  Escanaba 
River,  where  for  two  months  he  made  pine  boards,  and  returned  with 
his  fifty  dollars  wages,  and  with  it  paid  for  his  lot,  and  received  the 
first  title  he  ever  had  to  a  spot  on  his  Heavenly  Father's  earth, 
where  he  could  set  his  foot  in  his  own  right.  His  hopes  were  now 
high  with  the  prospeqt  of  a  home  for  his  wife  and  babes,  and  as 
many  more  as  God  should  please  to  send;  for  they  came  with- 
out prayers  or  solicitation  to  this,  as  they  do  to  most  poor  homes, 
But,  not  yet,  said  a  silent  voice.  "  Turn  the  spit,  Jack." 

"  Pain's  furnace  heat  within  me  quivers, 
God's  breath  upon  the  flame  doth  blow, 

And  all  my  heart  in  anguish  shivers, 
And  trembles  at  the  fiery  glow  ; 

And  yet  I  whisper,  As  God  will, 

And  in  his  hottest  fire  hold  still. 

"  He  comes  and  lays  my  heart,  all  heated, 

On  the  hard  anvil,  minded  so 
Into  his  own  fair  shape  to  beat  it, 

With  his  great  hammer,  blow  on  blow  ; 


LIFE-LINE    01'   THE    LONE    ONE.  99 

And  yet  I  whisper,  As  God  will, 
And  at  his  heaviest  blows  hold  still  ! 

"  Why  should  I  murmur  ?  —  for  the  sorrow 

Thus  only  longer-lived  will  be  ; 
Its  end  may  come,  and  will  to-morrow, 

When  God  has  done  his  work  in  me  ; 
So  I  say,  trusting,  As  God  will, 
And,  trusting  to  the  end,  hold  still." 

Two  physicians  in  constant  attendance,  —  seven  of  the  nine« 
family  in  the  log  cabin  of  the  Methodist  sick ;  the  wife- 
mother  given  up  by  the  family  as  the  victim  of  death,  and,  with 
terrible  groans  and  screams  of  fear,  and  repulsion  of  the  change, 
which  need  not  have  taken  place  but  for  fate  and  friends,  she 
crosses  over  to  the  other  shore,  and  the  others  are  pronounced  safe  ; 
for  death  had  gone  with  his  unwilling  Methodist  victim,  amid 
groans  and  shouts  of  the  preacher,  enough  to  disgust  the  savages. 

But  let  us  turn  to  the  wagon-house,  for  the  doctors  also  called 
in  there  every  day.  A  raging  fever  held  the  body  of  the  infidel 
husband  fast  to  the  couch,  and  the  same  terrible  gripe  was  also  on 
the  elder  boy,  and  the  younger  boy  shook  daily  with  ague,  and 
cried  piteously  to  the  feeble  mother  and  little  two-years-old  sister. 
All  were  in  one  room,  and  that  a  wagon-house,  in  the  autumn  of 
the  year.  The  preacher  did  not  come  in, —  he  was  not  invited;  but 
the  doctors  said  the  boys  were  safe,  but  the  father's  case  very 
doubtful.  On  the  day  of  the  funeral,  the  husband  of  the  body 
(for  he  was  never  the  husband  of  her  spirit,  for  he  had  a  wife 
before  and  after  her)  said  there  was  no  hope  of  the  Lone  One 
ever  recovering,  and  obtained  from  the  physician  an  approval  of 
his  opinion  ;  and  the  echo  soon  reached,  in  the  wife's  whisper  and 
tear,  the  heart  of  the  sick  man,  and  he  well  knew  the  desire  of 
his  friend  for  a  death-bed  conversion,  as  better  than  none. 
Calmly,  and  almost  smilingly,  he  whispered,  "  No,  I  shall  not 
die;  but,  if  I  should,  I  do  not  want  any  howling  priest,  nor  any 
of  that  kind  of  religion  which  makes  death  so  terrible." — "  I  hope 
you  will  not  die  such  a  terrible  death  as  she  did;"  and  she  was 


100  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    y'tf'E. 

one  of  the  best  women  they  had  ever  met,  and  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  her.  — "  No,  I  can  die  as  quietly  as  I  could  go  to  sleep, 
if  my  time  has  come,  and  my  work  is  done  ;  but  it  is  not,  and  I  can- 
not go."  Now,  at  the  very  time  when  most  needed,  came  the 
kind  sister  whose  magnetic  powers  had  once  saved  him  from  death  ; 
and  a  few  hours  of  her  magnetic  influence,  unconsciously  bestowed 
on  him,  carried  him  beyond  danger,  and  astonished  even  the  doc- 
tors, who  could  not  tell  what,  or  which,  of  their  medicines  had  thus 
wonderfully  saved  his  life;  but  surely  it  was  not  the  calomel,  for 
that,  by  his  request,  had  been  left  out,  by  his  agreeing  to  run  the 
risk  of  recovery  by  other  remedies.  The  son  was  soon  well,  but 
slowly  the  father  recovered  strength  enough  to  shake  with  ague 
each  alternate  day,  and  hear  the  friends  anticipate  an  all-winter 
business  of  it.  What  a  prospect  for  winter  !  It  seemed  impos- 
sible to  keep  all  the  babies  from  freezing,  in  that  wagon-house, 
through  the  approaching  winter.  True,  the  lumber  for  a  little 
house  was  already  en  his  lot  in  the  village;  but  he  had  no  means 
to  procure  other  articles  and  labor  for  the  house,  and  was  even 
now  in  debt  for  provisions,  for  now  he  had  a  little  credit  at  the 
stores,  and  had  been  obliged  to  use  it  for  flour,  &c.  Then  there 
were  the  physicians  to  be  paid.  One  thing  was  sure  —  if  he  could 
not  work  during  the  winter,  both  the  lumber  and  lot  would  have  to 
go,  and  thus  all  the  struggles  of  near  four  years  to  secure  a  home 
-would  be  in  vain,  and  his  future  prospects  darker  than  those  of  the 
past.  Thus  had  these  prospects  been  changed  by  the  sickness  — 
or  the  fever  —  which  seems  a  terrible  scourge  to  the  poor,  but 
sometimes  a  blessing  to  the  rich,  and  perhaps  to  all. 

"  The  cloud  which  bursts  with  thunder 

Slakes  our  thirsty  souls  with  rain  ; 
The  blow  most  dreaded  falls  to  break 

From  off  our  limbs  a  chain  ; 
And  wrongs  of  man  to  man  but  make 

The  love  of  God  more  plain; 
As  through  the  shadowy  lens  of  even 
The  eye  looks  farthest  into  heaven, 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  101 

On  gleams  of  star,  and  depths  of  blue, 
The  glowing  sunshine  never  knew." 

With  a  resolution  worthy  a  better  fate,  he  went  to  the  village, 
hired  his  board  with  a  family  who  had  once  been  poor,  but  could 
now  afford  to  trust  him,  where  the  good  living,  and  the  medicine 
selected  by  himself,  with  constant  labor  on  his  house,  soon  restored 
him  to  health.  The  house,  about  sixteen  by  twenty-six,  one  room 
high,  was,  by  the  aid  of  the  old  farmer  a  few  days,  up,  enclosed,  shin- 
gled, and  floored,  and  with  a  little  more  store  credit,  lathed,  plas- 
tered (all  of  which  he  did  himself),  and  ready  to  move  in ;  and  the 
farmer's  team  soon  brought  them  to  their  new  home,  all  but  a  cow, 
which,  amid  the  trials  of  saw-mill  life,  had  been  purchased,  and 
came  with  far  more  rejoicing  to  the  family  than  either  baby. 
This  they  left  to  winter,  but  not  to  sell,  for  well  he  knew  the  long, 
even  years',  trial  he  made  to  obtain  one,  which  he  at  last  secured 
for  lumber.  They  were  now  moved  into  their  own  house.  "  Sup- 
pose we  sing  Sweet  Home,"  said  the  Lone  One.  —  "  Sing !  —  we  can 
never  have  singing  in  our  family,  for  you  learned  in  a  saw-mill, 
and  I  in  a  prayer-meeting,  and  both  are  about  alike."  —  "Well, 
we  are  out  of  flour,  and  that  last  you  got  is  not  paid  for,  and  they 
won't  trust  you  again,  will  they  ?  "  —  "  And  out  of  almost  every- 
thing else,  except  a  house  ;  but  ....  this  is  our  house,  and  lot."  — 
"  Yes,  and  I  am  so  glad,  I  feel  as  if  I  never  want  to  move  again."  — 
"  And  we  can  have  such  a  large  garden  here,  I  guess  we  can  live." 
But  another  evil  was  upon  them  ;  in  plastering  the  house,  for  want 
of  a  glove,  he  had  worn  his  fingers  on  the  joints,  and,  by  the  aid 
of  lime,  the  sores  had  become  extremely  bad,  —  so  bad  he  could  not 
use  his  hand,  and  for  weeks  was  laid  entirely  up  from  labor,  when 
they  needed  so  much  the  pay,  and  when  the  creditors  were  in  con- 
stant fear  of  losing  the  little  money  he  owed  them ;  but  he  had  a 
home,  and  this  served  to  sustain  him  under  all  afflictions. 

Through  all  these  trials,  he  had  never  learned  to  drink,  to  swear, 
to  gamble,  nor  to  cheat ;  perhaps  he  did  lie  some  —  most  people  do ; 
but  on  this  and  all  subjects  he  was  strictly  conscientious,  but  very 
9* 


102  LIFE-LINE    OP    THE    LONE    ONE. 

infidel,  for  the  Boston  Investigator  furnished  his  mental  Sunday 
food  through  nearly  all  his  trial-days;  and  she  liked  its  beautiful 
poetry,  and  interesting  prose,  nearly  as  well  as  he  did.  They 
were  now  once  more  close  neighbors  to  the  elder  sister,  who  was 
also  in  a  little  shanty  of  their  own,  and  poor,  for  the  husband  was 
sick  with  consumption,  and,  with  their  two  boys,  they  were  trying 
to  breast  the  waves  of  competitive  life. 

A  mild  winter  of  1841  and  42  was  slowly  wearing  off;  the  hand 
recovered  slowly,  and  the  Lone  One  found  labor,  often  several 
miles  from  home ;  and,  since  the  exorbitant  rents  were  closed, 
the  debts  were  worn  slowly  off.  The  lot  had  been  fenced,  and 
ploughed,  before  the  house  was  built,  and  was  ready  for  a  garden 
soon  as  spring  should  clear  off  the  snow.  One  subject  was  still 
in  mystery  :  why  God  had  not  sent  these  babes  to  some  of  the  fine 
homes  of  the  rich,  where  such  "  blessings  "  were  desired,  for  the 
pious  always  affirmed  that  "  God  giveth  and  taketh  away."  Cer- 
tainly, if  they  had  a  choice  themselves,  or  were  "  free  agents," 
they  would  enter  such  homes,  and  not  crowd  on  to  the  poor  in  such 
profusion.  Yet  no  family  could  have  a  more  tender  care  and 
watchfulness  than  these  parents  over  the  germs  intrusted  to  them. 
To  the  ignorant,  God  ever  deals  in  mysteries ;  to  the  enlightened, 
never.  Spring  and  summer  of  1842,  labored  in  gardens,  on  farms, 
on  the  streets,  in  the  woods,  or  anywhere  where  labor  could  be 
found,  and  pay  obtained,  and  thus  fed  and  clothed  the  family, 
with  the  aid  of  the  milk  of  one  cow,  and  also  during  the  season 
obtained  lumber,  and  built  a  small  barn,  and  supplied  it  with  hay 
for  the  cow ;  bought  an  old  log  school-house,  where  he  had  once 
tried  to  teach,  and  tore  it  down,  built  a  wood-house,  and  secured 
some  comforts  around  their  little  home ;  had  a  good  garden  on  the 
new  land,  where  only  the  Indian  had  dug  before ;  and  when  '42 
was  about  to  leave  his  Santa  Glaus  tokens,  the  cellar  and  spare 
room  in  the  little  home  were  well  supplied  for  winter.  "  Guess 
we  shall  not  be  turned  out  this  fall,"  said  the  laborer.  —  "  Hope  we 
never  shall  move  again,  I  do  like  this  little  home  so,"  came  the 
answer  back.  When  the  year  went  out,  it  also  put  out  the  third 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  10d 

decade  of  the  Lone  One,  and  his  effects  summed  up  in,  a  wife  and 
three  babies,  in  a  little  seven  by  nine  house,  on  about  half  an  acre  of 
his  Father's  earth,  which,  by  several  years'  hard  labor,  he  had  at 
length  obtained  a  title  to,  from  those  who  had  purchased,  as  he 
had,  from  an  original  robber,  or  thief,  —  for,  as  God  had  never 
sold  it,  of  course  those  who  did  stole  the  title,  or  robbed  God, 
and  his  weaker  children. 

"  A  billion  of  acres  of  unsold  land 

Are  lying  in  grievous  dearth  ; 
And  millions  of  men  in  the  image  of  God 

Are  starving  all  over  the  earth  ! 
0,  tell  me,  ye  sons  of  America, 
How  much  men's  lives  are  worth  ! 

"  Ten  hundred  millions  of  acres  good, 

That  never  knew  spade  or  plough  ; 
And  a  million  of  souls  in  our  goodly  land 

Are  pining  in  want,  I  trow, 
And  orphans  are  crying  for  bread  this  day, 

And  widows  in  misery  bow  ! 

•'  To  whom  do  these  acres  of  land  belong? 

And  why  do  they  thriftless  lie  ? 
And  why  is  the  widow's  lament  unheard, 

And  stifled  the  orphans'  cry  ? 
And  why  are  storehouse  and  prison  full, 

And  the  gallows-tree  high  ? 

"  Those  millions  of  acres  belong  to  man  ! 

And  his  claim  is  —  that  he  needs  ! 
And  his  title  is  signed  by  the  hand  of  God  — 

Our  God,  who  the  raven  feeds; 
And  the  starving  soul  of  each  famishing  man 

At  the  throne  of  justice  pleads. 

"  Ye  may  not  heed  it,  ye  haughty  men, 

Whose  hearts  as  rocks  are  cold  ; 
But  the  time  shall  come  when  the  fiat  of  God 

In  the  thunder  shall  be  told  ! 
For  the  voice  of  the  great  I  AM  hath  said 

That  the  '  land  shall  not  be  sold  '  ' 


104  LIFE-LINE    OF    THE   LONE    ONE. 

Thirty  years  of  struggles  with  disgrace  and  poverty  had  now 
been  worn  off,  and,  although  he  had  obtained  a  little  spot  of  earth, 
to  eat  and  sleep  on,  and  to  house  his  family  on,  yet  he  pUinly  saw 
that  the  whole  system  of  land  monopoly  was  robbery,  and  the 
greatest  of  all  curses  in  the  system  of  civil  and  political  economy 
adopted  by  civilized  nations.  He  had  also  given  some  attention 
to  the  study  of  phrenology,  called  to  it  at  first  by  the  abuse  and 
ridicule  which  priests  and  religious  papers  heaped  upon  it;  for  he 
had  ever  found  them  abusing  the  world's  best  reforms  and  reform- 
ers, and  so  it  proved  in  this.  He  had  already  become  an  active 
participant,  and  the  "  Ladies  Advocate,"  in  the  Iyci:um,  and  ever 
the  opponent  of  theology,  and  the  defender  of  new  and  unpopular 
truth.  For,  since  he  was  what  Christians  termed  an  infidel,  he 
could  afford  to  defend  what  they  condemned,  until  it  should  tri- 
umph, or  be  beaten. 

January  5,  1843.  —  Let  us  take  account  of  stock:  One  tolera- 
bly healthy  man,  working  out  by  the  day,  with  a  good  prospect 
of  following  it  through  life.  One  poor,  sickly  wife,  the  mother 
of  three  children;  far  more  willing  than  able  to  do  the  work  of 
the  family.  One  sickly  boy,  near  five  and  a  half  years  of  age,  with 
poor  promise  of  usefulness.  One  healthy  and  petulant  girl,  of 
three  and  a  half  years.  One  healthy  boy,  of  one  and  a  half  years. 
A  little  cabin  for  the  family,  and  one  larger  for  the  cow.  Good 
supply  of  garden  vegetables,  and  not  much  else,  to  live  on.  Was 
he  not  well  paid  for  living  and  laboring  as  he  had,  for  thirty  years, 
in  his  heavenly  Father's  vineyard?  "Truly,  God  is  the  God  of 
the  poor,"  said  a  Christian.  —  "  Guess  he  is,"  said  the  Lone  One; 
"  but  he  pays  them,  I  suppose,  in  heaven."  —  "  If  they  are  Chris- 
tians," replied  the  saint.  —  "  And  if  not,  does  he  cheat  them  out  of 
their  pay  ?  "  asked  the  sceptic.  —  "  If  not  Christians,  he  send?  them 
to  hell."  —  "  Poor  place  that  for  his  children  !  " 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FOURTH  DECADE  OF  THE  LONE  ONE. 

Death.  —  Birth.—  Death. —  New  Field  of  Mental  Search  after  Spirits. —  Change 
of  Homes  and  Life.  —  Entered  the  School  of  Socialists,  and  reached  the  Grad- 
uating Class.  —  Entered  the  School  of  Politics,  and  graduated.  —  Entered  the 
School  of  Affectional  Development,  and  graduated  with  Honors,  alias  Slan- 
ders. —  Entered  the  Class  of  Teachers,  and  graduated  a  Preacher. 

SECTION  L 

THE    LONE    ONE   AT   HOME. 

"  BROTHER,  art  thou  poor  and  lowly, 

Toiling,  moiling,  day  by  day  — 
Journeying  painfully  and  slowly 
On  thy  dark  and  desert  way? 
Pause  not,  though  the  proud  ones  frown  ; 
Faint  not,  fear  not,  —  live  them  down  ! 

"  Though  to  vice  thou  dost  not  pander, 
Though  to  virtue  thou  dost  kneel, 
Yet  thou  shalt  escape  not  slander  ; 

Guile  and  lie  thy  soul  must  feel  — 
Jest  of  witling,  curse  of  clown  ;  — 
Heed  not  either,  —  live  them  down  ! 

"  Hate  may  wield  her  scourges  horrid, 

Malice  may  thy  woes  deride, 
Scorn  may  bind  with  thorns  thy  forehead, 

Envy's  spear  may  pierce  thy  side  ; 
So  through  cross  shall  come  the  crown  : 
Fear  not  foemen,  —  live  them  down  !  " 


106  LIFE-LINE   OP  THE   LONE   ONE. 

"  Strive  on  !  the  ocean  ne'er  was  crossed 
Repining  on  the  shore  ; 

***** 

Strive  on,  'tis  cowardly  to  shrink 
When  dangers  rise  around  ; 

***** 

Bright  names  are  on  the  roll  of  fame  — 
***** 

And  these  were  lighted  'mid  the  gloom 

Of  low  obscurity, 
Struggling  through  years  of  pain,  and  toil, 

And  joyless  poverty." 


Elegant  tombstones  are  erected  only  to  preserve  the  memory  of 
the  rich.  The  poor  do  not  need  them,  for  they  have  their  reward 
in  the  other  life,  if  the  Lazarus  and  Dives  story  is  true  as  an  exam- 
ple, or  if  Jesus'  blessing  reaches  them.  It  is  probably  best  that 
riches  should  be  displayed  over  the  graves  of  those  who  possessed 
them,  as  they  will  not  mark  any  distinction  in  the  next  life.  So 
of  books,  and  especially  biographies  and  lineage  lines.  They  are 
mainly  written  of  and  for  —  but  not  by  —  the  rich.  The  lines  and 
lineage  of  poor  people  are  of  little  account ;  but  this  narrative 
will  be  an  exception,  and  no  doubt  excepted,  in  the  list  of  sup- 
plies, for  it  is  only  the  history  of  a  poor  man,  not  trying  to  get 
rich,  but  trying  to  get  a  home,  and  then  a  deserved  reputation, 
in  spite  of  scorn  and  envy.  If  we  follow  the  line  of  life  of  this 
family,  I  trust  the  record  may  be  as  useful  as  a  tombstone  oyer 
the  grave  of  one  who  has  gone  to  another  world  to  live,  and  left 
his  accumulations  here. 

Forty-three' entered  the  throne  of  time  in  the  winter,  and  held 
a  cold  grip  for  months,  but  at  length  began  to  soften,  as  the  sea- 
sons were  turning  their  varied  phases.  So  the  world  of  mind  was 
in  commotion,  and  constantly  crowding  individuals  over  the  ups 
and  downs  of  lift:.  At  this  time  the  "  Millerite  excitement  "  was 
having  its  run  in  the  West  as  well  as  East,  and  the  deep  snows,  or 
prairie-fires,  the  eclipse,  or  the  whirlwind,  were  alike  seized  as  an 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  107 

evidence  that  He  was  coming.  Always  betraying  the  deplorable 
ignorance  of  the  very  superstitious.  A  religious  revival&id  con- 
verted most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  village,  and  many  of  them, 
by  their  own  acknowledgments,  needed  it,  and  some  as  often  as 
once  a  year.  The  sceptic  was  compelled  to  admit  a  use  iu  reli- 
gion, as  it  made  some  bad  men  acknowledge  their  sin.«,  and  thus 
warn  those  not  to  trust  them  who  knew  such  conversions  did  not 
change  the  real  character  of  the  convert.  Some  of  his  neighbors 
were  caught  in  the  revival  meshes,  and  some  in, the  Millerite 
storm  ;  but  he  moved  calmly  through  each,  saying  to  one  class, 
you  will  know  better  when  you  get  sober  ;  and  to  the  other,  you 
prove  it  clearly  from  the  Bible,  but  the  Bible  is  not  reliable,  and 
this  will  show  you  it  is  not.  And  it  did  open  the  eyes  of  a  few  ; 
but  the  blind  priests  threw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  most  of  them,  so 
they  did  not  see  the  real  truth,  although  they  saw  the  world  jog 
on  as  usual. 

Scarcely  had  the  spring  of  '43  unlocked  the  casket,  and  dis- 
tributed the  jewels  of  winter,  when  an  entire  stranger  came  to  the 
little  obscure  home,  more  unwelcome  than  the  one  who  brought 
the  babies.  It  was  a  messenger  from  the  "  Islands  of  the 
Blessed,"  after  one  of  the  boys ;  and  for  a  few  days  it  was  uncer- 
tain which  he  would  take,  or  whether  both,  or  neither.  But  he 
finally  called  the  younger,  but  had  put  his  finger  on  the  elder,  and 
left  him  almost  breathless ;  and  it  was  long  before  the  father  could 
catch  from  the  low  whisper  the  word  salt,  as  the  same  boy  that 
shed  tears  when  he  could  not  obtain  bread  for  tears  struggled  with 
every  gasp  for  breath,  and  dropped  its  tear  again  in  grief,  that  it 
could  not  make  an  anxious  father  or  mother  understand  the  word 
salt.  He  was  dying  for  salt,  but  the  tear  answered  in  the  father's 
eye,  as  he  at  last  caught  the  word,  and  only  dared  let  him  touch, 
with  the  tip  of  his  tongue,  the  lump  of  salt,  from  which  moment 
he  began  to  recover. 

The  stranger  had  gone,  but  he  had  taken  the  mother's  darling, 
the  noble  boy,  whom  everybody  praised.  Reader,  do  you  think  it 
was  God  who  sent  that  child  to  the  wagon-house,  and  then  took  it 


108  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

from  the  little  home  ere  it  had  either  said  or  sung  its  mission  here  ? 
The  doctor  could  not  save  it,  and  perhaps  he  thought  they  had 
enough  without  it.  It  broke  a  chord  in  the  heart  of  the  Lone  One, 
and  started  a  search,  and  research,  which  never  ended  until  he  as- 
certained whether  that  child  had  ceased  to  be  conscious ;  and  when 
he  found  it  had  not,  he  did  not  stop  until  ha  ascertained  its  con- 
dition, and  heard  from  his  own  darling  boy  the  story  of  his  new 
life,  and  friends,  and  home.  But  the  body  —  what  would  such 
religious  sceptics  do  with  it  ?  No  priest  or  deacon  was  called,  and 
no  sermon  preached  to  save  its  soul.  Their  only  fear  was  that  it 
had  no  conscious  soul.  By  the  assistance  of  a  few  friends  the 
oody  was  put  under  the  soil,  in  the  bury  ing-ground,  and  an  apple- 
tree  planted  on  the  top  of  the  grave,  and  a  crib  fence  placed 
around  to  protect  the  tree.  The  grave  was  often  visited  by  the 
parents  during  their  stay,  and  has  been  often  visited  by  the  father 
since.  There,  no  doubt,  lies  yet  the  body,  never  to  be  resurrected ; 
and  there  grows  the  apple-tree,  yielding  its  fruit.  But  the  boy, 
now  grown  to  a  fine  youth,  with  another  body,  often  visits  both 
father  and  mother,  and  they  both  know  the  fact,  and  him.  The 
mother  has  often  been  made  to  feel,  by  his  presence,  that 

"  An  angel  came  to  me,  one  night, 
With  glorious  beauty  clothed, 
And  with  sweet  words  of  hope  and  joy 
My  way-worn  spirit  soothed. 

"  He  fanned  my  cheek  and  burning  brow, 

And  cooled  my  fevered  brain, 
And  with  his  own  deep  music-voice 
Sang  many  a  loving  strain. 

"  '  0,  mine  is  not  the  power,'  he  said, 

'  To  fit  thy  heart  for  heaven  ; 
The  gift  to  purify  thy  soul 
Unto  thyself  is  given.' 

"  I  turned,  the  angel-guest  to  ask 
What  could  the  vision  mean  ; 
He  only  smiled,  then  flew  away  ; 
I  woke  —  't  was  but  a  dream." 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  109 

But,  0,  it  has  not  proved  a  dream ;  for  soon  she,  too,  will  "leave 
the  shell  below,"  to  join  the  happy  throng  who  wait  her  thfre,  and 
who  have  watched  her  through  her  night  of  trials  and  pilgrimage 
below.  Work  by  day,  and  watch  by  night ;  pay  the  doctor,  but 
not  the  priest !  0,  foolish  man,  why  not  stop  the  doctor,  and  stop 
smoking,  and  leave  the  coffee  in  the  store,  and  the  meat  in  the 
market.  Then,  perhaps,  you  might  feast,  instead  of  fasting  on 
spiritual  food  all  the  time.  But  he  did  not  know  it.  He  had 
begun  his  studies  in  phrenology  and  mesmerism,  and  was  making 
progress  and  practical  use,  as  far  as  his  time  would  allow  ;  which 
was  not  much,  for  he  was  street  commissioner  and  road  master  for 
the  town  and  village,  and  had  plenty  of  work  for  himself  and 
others  on  the  roads,  and  constructing  a  bridge,  all  the  summer 
and  fall  of  '43.  This  was  his  work  six  days  in  seven,  and  in  his 
garden  and  house  on  the  seventh ;  for  he  had  not  yet  become  a 
preacher.  He  collected  or  returned  all  the  road-taxes  of  the  town, 
for  the  land  had  been  purchased,  and  the  titles  were  now  secure,  and 
the  property  taxable,  and  the  village  fast  growing  to  be  a  city,  which 
it  accomplished  about  ten  years  after,  though  rather  a  diminutive  one. 
It  does  not  grow  much  since.  However,  it  is  Kenosha,  and  nothing 
else,  and  has  a  selfhood  among  the  cities.  Occasionally  he  had 
sold  goods  at  auction,  as  he  had  often  done  in  Monroe,  and  this 
brought  a  call  from  Chicago.  Two  months  he  sold  goods  for 
Stanton  &  Russell,  one  of  whom  not  long  after  went  to  "  Pone- 
mah,"  from  the  kingdom  of  "  Wabasso,"  in  one  of  Fremont's 
excursions  in  the  snow-drifts,  and  the  other  is  "  nobody  knows 
where."  He  had  also  rented  a  spot  of  ground  on  the  street,  be- 
tween two  stores  that  were  near  neighbors,  and  roofed  it  over,  and 
had  a  store  to  use  or  rent,  and  tried  to  make  it  pay  for  itself; 
which  it  nearly  did  in  the  end,  although  the  zealous  anti-slavery 
man  who  furnished  the  materials  shaved  him  with  a  two-edged 
instrument  —  high  prices  and  great  usury.  But  that  is  customary 
in  all  trades  with  the  poor.  The  rich  will  not  stand  the  shave, 
and  how  could  a  man  get  rich  unless  he  could  shave  somebody  ? 

I  think  I  hear  the  reader  say,  about  here,  "  I  wish  you  would 
10 


110  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE    LONE    ONE. 

hurry  up  this  life-line  ;  I  want  to  get  at  the  marvellous  part  of 
the  sto%."  You  might  as  well  stop  here,  if  that  is  what  you  are 
after ;  for  there  is  nothing  marvellous  about  it,  except  the  two 
ends  of  the  story,  and  the  knot  that  ties  them  together.  All  the 
rest  is  "  commonplace,"  and  such  as  you  have  seen.  But  it  is  a 
hard-twisted  line,  and  has  been  twisted  from  both  ends  at  once  ; 
perhaps  yours  has  not.  It  is  not  a  rope  of  sand,  either,  for  it  will 
not  break  between  the  ends.  Perhaps  you  wish  it  would,  but  I 
do  not  wish  so ;  therefore  we  will  go  on,  after  a  dessert. 

"  .  .  .  .  Those  who  greedily  pursue 
Things  wonderful  instead  of  true, 
That  in  their  speculations  choose 
To  make  discoveries  strange  news, 
And  natural  history  a  gazette 
Of  tales  stupendous  and  far-fetched, 
Hold  no  truth  worthy  to  be  known 
That  is  not  huge  and  overgrown  ; 
In  vain  strive  nature  to  suborn, 
And  for  their  pains  are  paid  with  scorn. ' ' 

In  the  summer-time  of  '43,  the  inside  history  is  also  worthy  to 
be  recorded  here ;  for  the  Lord  or  the  doctor  had  again  visited 
the  little  home  of  one  room  in-doors,  and  one  out-doors,  and  left 
another  baby-boy,  which  several  causes  had  hurried  into  this 
sphere  both  in  embryo  and  in  birth  before  its  time.  It  had 
sparkling  bright  eyes,  but  none  praised  its  body.  The  seven- 
months  boy  was  approaching  seven  years,  and  doing  well ;  but  the 
eight-months  boy,  of  course,  could  not  stay  here,  for  all  the 
women  said  so,  and  therefore  it  only  staid  about  eight  months  in 
the  outer  world,  and  began  to  be  interesting  and  attractive,  when 
the  one  who  had  gone  to  the  other  home  came  after  him,  accom- 
panied by  a  sister  of  his  mother  and  several  others,  and  they  took 
him  away  to  rear  and  educate  in  their  new  home.  They  laid  its 
body  beside  the  other  under  the  tree,  and  returned  sorrowing  to 
the  little  home.  But  the  poor,  feeble  mother  —  0,  what  a  trial 
was  her  life  !  In  the  sexual  blending  of  natures,  in  the  mutual 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  Ill 

affinity  of  desires,  in  the  congenial  attractions  of  souls,  in  the 
mingling  soul-sympathies  of  a  love-life,  in  the  deep,  ardent  emo- 
tions of  a  united  heart-beat,  the  twain  had  never  been  one.  The 
weaker  form  and  milder  nature  of  the  wife  and  mother  had  ever 
been  the  greater  sufferer.  The  hasty  and  abruptly-broken  court- 
ship, which  had  been  cut  off  ere  it  had  ripened,  had  not  been  cul- 
tivated and  preserved  as  it  ever  must  be,  before  or  after  marriage, 
to  secure  happiness  in  conjugal  life.  Indeed,  it  is  not  certain 
that  any  but  a  life  of  courtship,  in  or  out  of  marriage  union,  ever 
can  be  a  life  of  mutual  happiness  for  man  and  woman.  It  is  certain 
that  those  who  are  most  happy  in  married  life  court  each  other 
very  much  as  before  marriage ;  and  it  is  also  certain  that  the  life 
of  the  Lone  One  and  his  mate  became  a  happy  life  when  they 
renewed  and  continued  their  courtship,  and  not  before.  True, 
courtship,  in  or  out  of  wedlock,  would  be  somewhat  different,  but 
should  never  be  so  different  as  to  prevent  either  from  absolute 
control  of  person,  nor  should  marriage  ever  give  one  party  the 
right  to  dictate  to  the  other,  or  compel,  even  by  entreaty,  any 
social  or  sexual  relations  not  mutually  desirable.  How  much 
misery  might  be  saved,  and  how  many  homes  now  miserable 
might  be  made  happy,  by  observing  this  rule  of  life !  This  pair 
learned  it,  but  late,  later  yet ;  and  after  years  of  suffering  and 
sorrow,  such  as  many  others  experience,  but  seldom  write  or 
relate,  but  hide  from  all  but  those  who  can  read  the  history 
written  in  the  countenances  of  all  persons  who  have  any  to  be 
written  in  or  on.  The  time  has  come  when  a  sensualist  cannot 
hide  his  character  without  hiding  his  face  and  shape  of  head  and 
neck  ;  nor  can  his  victim,  if  he  have  one,  hide  her  sufferings  with- 
out hiding  herself;  and  close  observation  proves  there  are  a  few 
cases,  and  only  a  few,  where  the  female  is  in  the  ascendant,  and 
the  man  the  victim  ;  but  they  are  so  few  as  to  be  scarcely  worth 
noticing. 

Now  we  will  let  this  domestic  current  run  alone  a  while, 
since  two  babies  have  gone  over,  and  two  are  trying  to  live 
here,  and  the  mother  is  extremely  feeble,  and  the  friends  all 


112  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

Bay  she  cannot  live  long  with  such  a  weak  and  emaciated  form. 
Few,  very  few  families  can  be  found  where  there  are  less  jars  or 
discord,  before  or  behind  the  curtain,  than  were  felt  in  this  little 
group  of  sufferers  from  hereditary  and  educational  defects,  and 
social  ills  they  knew  not  how  to  cure.  Patiently  she  toiled 
through  these  years  of  suffering,  annoyed  by  a  constant  cough, 
which  sometimes  gave  her  not  one  hour's  rest  for  weeks,  and 
other  trials  of  child-bearing  in  deep  poverty ;  but  all  these  were 
developing  in  her  a  soul-sensitiveness  which  will  ultimately  carry 
her  to  the  group  who  have  come  out  of  great  tribulation.  The 
trials  were  not  all  on  one  side,  nor  were  the  sufferings  all  on  one 
side ;  but  his  "  eager  ardent "  mind  had  a  wider  range  for  exer- 
cise than  the  one  who  was  confined  at  home  by  poverty,  sickness, 
and  babies. 

"  A  little  longer,  but  a  little  longer, 
And  earth,  with  all  its  griefs,  its  joys,  its  cares, 
Its  beauty  and  depravity,  its  burdens  for 
The  pent-up,  struggling  soul,  its  aspirations 
For  a  holier  clime  ;  its  jarring  passions, 
And  its  '  gushing  sympathies  '  (for  even  such 
Are  found  upon  its  rugged  way),  its  loving  hearts, 
And  vile,  unhallowed  ones,  and  all  it  has 
Of  beautiful  and  good,  and  bright  and  pure, 
And  the  dark  stains  upon  its  loveliness, 
Shall  pass  away." 

"  Then  let  us  meeker  bear  its  burdens, 
Struggle  on  more  patiently  amid  its  sorrows, 
Enjoy  with  purer,  more  heartfelt  delight, 
Its  blessings,  and,  with  eyes  upturned  to  heaven, 
And  hearts  longing  more  earnestly  for  its 
Enduring  joys,  await  '  the  change  of  spheres.'  " 

"When  '44,  the  eventful  year,  began,  some  of  the  long  evenings 
were  spent  by  the  Lone  One  with  a  small  group  of  honest  and  earnest 
students  of  Mesmerism,  who  held  regular  meetings  for  experiment 
and  investigation.  A  paper  called  the  Magnet,  edited  by  La  Roy 
Sunderland,  gave  them  most  of  their  directions  for  management, 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  113 

until  their  own  experiments  became  interesting  and  finally  useful, 
especially  to  the  Lone  One,  for  he  did  not  leave  this  lead  until 
he  discovered  the  existence  and  condition  of  his  boy  in  the  spirit- 
world,  and  of  many  others ;  for,  unexpectedly  to  him,  it  led 
directly  to  this  knowledge,  and  those  who  dared  to  follow  it  far 
enough  have  found  it  to  extend  into  and  connect  with  the  sphere 
of  spirit-life  most  beautifully,  in  independent  clairvoyance.  It 
was  through  this  channel  that  the  Lone  One  entered  the  new  con- 
dition of  life,  and  became  possessed  of  the,  to  him,  all  important 
knowledge  of  another  life,  and  of  the  immediate  and  sometimes 
intimate  connection  of  the  two  spheres.  And  by  this,  too,  he 
learned  that  his  mother  was  still  in  existence,  and  had,  through 
many  years  of  trial  and  hardship,  watched  over  and  guided  him 
as  well  as  she  could,  though  not  as  well  as  she  would  have  been 
glad  to  do,  if  possessed  of  more  power.  During  these  investiga- 
tions, some  of  the  works  of  Swedenborg  fell  into  his  way,  and  aided 
him  much  in  forming  a  philosophy ;  for  they  were  the  first  reli- 
gious books  he  ever  read  that  united  religion  with  philosophy  and 
science,  and  therefore  were  the  only  rational  ones  to  him.  But 
these  references  run  along  over  several  years,  during  which  other 
very  important  living  currents  in  the  life-line  were  running  their 
race  also. 

At  this  time  the  country  was  being  much  agitated  by  the  dis- 
cussion of  Fourier's  principles  of  association,  and  the  zeal  with 
which  the  New  York  Tribune  and  several  other  papers  defended 
the  science  of  new  social  relations,  and  the  reorganization  of 
society ;  and  the  glowing  prospects  of  several  societies  already 
commenced  —  as  they  were  portrayed  by  enthusiastic  believers, 
who  lived  in,  or  visited  them,  —  brought  the  subject  before  the 
lyceum  of  the  little  village,  in  which  the  sufferer  from  competition 
and  social  ills  was  a  conspicuous  member.  He  soon  found  enough 
to  enlist  him  in  its  favor.  Its  vast  economies,  its  equitable  dis- 
tributions, its  harmony  of  groups  and  series,  its  attractive  industry, 
its  advantages  for  schools,  meetings,  parties,  and  social  festivities, 
all  seemed  to  make  its  theory  invulnerable  to  attack,  except  from 
10* 


114  LIFE-LINE    OF    TUB   LONE    ONE. 

the  false  and  abominable  doctrine  of  total  depravity,  which  he 
never  did  admit,  and  which  he  believed  to  constitute  blasphemy, 
if  such  crime  existed.  The  Lone  One  entered  ardently  and  ear- 
nestly into  this  new  system,  and  sought  all  the  information  he 
could  obtain  of  its  principles  and  results.  Then  came  the  taunt 
from  the  opponents  to  him  and  others,  "  Why  not  practise  it,  if 
you  believe  it  the  best  way  to  live?"  and  they  answered,  We 
will.  It  is  singular  how  little  incidents  sometimes  turn  the  chan- 
nel of  life.  The  home  partner  of  the  Lone  One  did  not  hear  these 
discussions  in  the  lyceum  and  everywhere,  and  hence  did  not 
become  a  convert  to  the  doctrines,  nor  in  love  with  the  theory ; 
but  she  had  ever  been  the  silent  partner,  and  acquiesced  in  all  his 
plans  for  life,  or  only  gently  remonstrated,  and  then  gave  up,  as 
she  thought  a  true  wife  ought  to  do.  In  the  spring  of  '44  an 
organization  was  formed,  and  some  old  fogies  placed  at  its  head 
to  give  it  dignity.  But  the  Lone  One,  who  was  really  the  mental 
motive-power  of  the  organization,  but  who  had  no  dignity,  and 
very  little  money  to  add  to  it,  was  made  vice-president,  and  of 
course,  in  the  absence  of  the  chief  officer,  had  to  act  as  presi- 
dent, and  this  was  in  all  business  meetings  and  matters.  They 
had  printed  articles  of  agreement,  which  constituted  an  organiza- 
tion in  all  but  the  law.  Had  stock  shares  of  twenty-five  dollars 
each,  on  which,  by  offers  of  great  usury,  they  raised  several  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  employed  one  Ebenezer  Childs,  of  Green  Bay, — 
a  man  long  a  resident  of  northern  Wisconsin,  and  familiar  with  the 
country  and  the  Indians.  —  to  select  for  them  a  location,  with 
land  and  water  privileges.  Sent  with  him  three  men,  good 
judges  of  land,  to  accept  or  reject  such  location  as  he  should  point 
out  to  them.  After  about  twelve  days'  search  in  a  delightful 
country,  and  in  the  most  favorable  spring  of  many  years,  they 
at  length  returned,  laden  with  the  burdens,  as  those  of  old  from 
Canaan ;  but  the  committee,  like  that  of  the  Jews,  never  went 
there  to  live.  They  had  selected  a  tract  of  government  land  in 
Township  Sixteen,  North,  Range  Fourteen,  East,  ten  miles  from 
the  Neenah,  and  on  a  small  stream  that  tumbled  over  cliffs  of 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  115 

lime-rock,  and  emptied  into  Green  Lake  three  miles  below  the 
falls  and  the  location.  Next  the  money  was  collected  and  sent  to 
enter  the  land ;  but,  as  the  association,  which  had  now  assumed 
the  name  of  Wisconsin  Phalanx,  was  not  a  legal  body,  therefore 
it  could  not  hold  land-titles.  The  treasurer  had  given  bonds, 
which,  in  law,  ran  from  somebody  to  nobody.  One  good  friend 
to  the  Lone  One  and  the  enterprise,  a  young  lawyer,  was  aware 
of  this,  and  kept  the  leading  mind  informed  on  it.  It  was  now 
evident  that  several  prominent  characters  had  only  lent  dignity 
and  character  to  the  movement,  and  never  intended  to  lend  other 
aid,  and  that  the  treasurer  was  of  this  character,  and,  like  most 
men,  of  doubtful  honesty  when  bej'ond  the  reach  of  law  ;  but  the 
assembled  officers  had  no  other  alternative  for  themselves  or  him, 
and  therefore  resolved  to  let  him  enter  the  land  in  his  own  name, 
and  hold  it  till  an  act  of  incorporation  could  be  obtained  for  the 
society,  and  then  transfer  it  to  the  soulless  being  which  the  law 
should  create.  But  the  treasurer  had  paid  in  no  part  of  the 
money,  and  by  the  resolve  was  not  to  send  out  all  that  was  in  his 
hands.  The  vice-president  was  made  the  business  agent,  to 
receive  eight  hundred  dollars,  and  see  to  the  entries  ;  leaving  about 
one  hundred  dollars  in  the  treasury,  which  never  came  out,  for 
reasons.  The  lots  were  selected,  and  the  money  sent  to  Green  Bay 
by  a  merchant  of  that  place,  and  the  duplicates  obtained  as  the 
vice-president  directed  ;  but  they  were  not  in  the  name  of  the  en- 
raged treasurer.  They  came  in  the  name  of  a  quiet  citizen  of  the 
village,  of  irreproachable  character,  and  far  too  honorable  to 
defraud  any  person,  and  one  in  whom  everybody  had  confidence 
who  knew  him.  This  was  a  bold  move  for  the  Lone  One,  but 
such  as  the  necessity  demanded,  as  was  fully  proven  afterward. 
He  excused  the  assumption  of  power  when  it  was  necessary,  by 
the  fact  that  the  wife  of  the  treasurer  lived  in  another  state, 
and  that  his  home,  if  he  had  any,  was  there  also.  The  com- 
motion this  would  have  caused  was  not  felt  by  most  of  the  inter- 
ested persons ;  for  while  this  was  being  transacted  they  had  col- 
lected teams,  and  cows,  and  tools,  and  provisions,  and  tents,  and 


116  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

started,  —  nineteen  men  and  one  boy,  with  three  horse-teams  and 
several  ox-teams, — "  overland,"  to  the  land  of  promise,  by  the  way 
of  Watertown  and  the  long  prairie.  They  camped  and  marched, 
and  marched  and  camped,  and,  after  six  days,  met,  at  the  house 
of  the  nearest  settler,  the  Lone  One,  who  had  taken  another 
route  on  foot,  and  alone,  by  the  way  of  Milwaukie  and  Fond-du- 
lac,  the  latter  being  their  post-office,  twenty -five  miles  from  the 
location,  and  the  place  where  he  received  by  mail  the  duplicates 
of  land,  which  they  were  now  to  find  and  improve.  This  glad, 
Saterler  Clark,  neighbor,  pointed  them  out  the  trail,  —  which 
means  an  Indian  pony-road,  and  is  very  much  like  a  snake's  path 
in  the  mud.  They  camped  at  night  where  the  city  of  Ripon  now 
stands,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  stream,  near  where  the  stone  mill 
now  stands ;  and  on  the  morning  of  May  27  —  to  them  ever  memo-, 
rable  —  they  repaired  to  the  valley  below,  on  the  beautiful  plain 
surrounded  by  hills,  like  an  amphitheatre,  and  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  spots  nature  has  formed  in  Wisconsin,  and  then,  on  their 
own  land,  pitched  their  tents,  stuck  their  stakes,  dipped  their 
spades,  and  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  town  of  Ceresco,  as  the 
Lone  One  called  the  place,  and  the  post-office,  which  was  soon 
established,  in  answer  to  the  petition  and  his  request,  with  their 
acting  secretary,  L.  R.,  one  of  nature's  —  but  not  man's  —  noble- 
men, and  a  true-hearted  reformer,  as  post-master. 

The  27th  of  May  was  duly  solemnized  and  celebrated,  this,  and 
for  several  succeeding  years,  as  the  landing  of  the  pilgrims ;  but 
it  is  now  all  done,  for  other  hands  and  motives  guide  the  settle- 
ment. Yet  it  is  pleasant  to  look  back  to  the  hours  of  joy,  and 
hearts  of  quickened  and  joyous  beat,  that  once  assembled  annually 
on  that  day,  under  banners,  and  listened  to  speeches  and  songs, 
and  partook  of  the  best  the  land  could  afford.  But  perhaps, 
reader,  you  were  never  out  West ;  and  if  so,  perhaps  never  saw 
the  beautiful  spot  here  referred  to,  and  you  may  not  be  aware 
that  Uncle  Sam  bought  the  lands  between  the  Mississippi  and  Lake 
Michigan  of  those  who  never  owned  them  ;  and,  being  himself  the 
highest  tribunal  of  authority  in  this  world,  could  not  have  hia 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  117 

title  tried ;  therefore  he  proceeded,  by  well-paid  deputies,  to  run 
out  these  lands  into  townships  of  six  miles  square,  and  then  to 
subdivide  them  into  sections  of  one  mile  square,  and  again  into 
quarters  and  quarter  quarters,  the  last  and  least  being  forty 
acres.  And  these  were  sold  and  conveyed,  by  a  title  that  was  in- 
disputable in  this  world,  whatever  it  may  be  in  the  next,  where 
there  is  other  authority. 

T'ae  south  line  of  Wisconsin  was  the  base  line  of  this  survey, 
and  sixteen  townships  north  of  this  line  was  the  range  of  Ceresco, 
and  fourteen  east  of  a  line  near  the  great  river,  from  which  they 
counted  eastward,  was  the  exact  spot  which  brought  it  in  the 
north-west  corner  of  Fond-du-lac  county.  But,  as  prejudice  and 
envy  has  since  changed  the  beautiful  name  of  Ceresco,  both  of 
town  and  post-office,  to  Ripon,  it  is  thus  pointed  out  to  the  reader 
by  landmarks.  At  the  time  of  this  immigration  there  was  no 
settler  in  the  township,  and  none  in  the  one  north,  nor  the  one 
east,  nor  the  one  south,  but  three  or  four  in  the  one  west,  on  the 
beautiful  border  of  Green  Lake,  which  was  a  strip  of  timber 
between  the  prairie  and  the  water. 

The  long  days  were  well  filled  with  toil  by  the  pioneer  social- 
ists, and  the  short  nights  were  devoted  to  sleep  on  the  ground, 
under  the  tents.  The  Scotch  sailor  cooked  for  them  in  open  air, 
and  they  eat  on  rough  boards,  under  the  shade  of  a  bower,  when 
it  did  not  rain ;  and  when  it  did,  they  eat  standing,  to  avoid  an 
excess  of  water  on  the  body,  and  because  they  could  shed  rain 
better  in  that  position.  They  put  in  one  hundred  acres  of  wheat 
on  the  prairie  for  the  next  season,  and  potatoes,  and  corn,  etc., 
for  the  running  season.  On  the  morning  of  June  10th,  the 
ground  was  white  with  frost,  and  used  up  most  of  the  corn,  and 
beans,  and  vines,  which  they  had  hurried  up  on  the  new  sod,  so 
beautifully  turned,  where  no  rock  nor  root  was  in  the  way  of 
olough  and  spade.  They  also  began  to  erect  three  dwellings, 
twenty  by  thirty  feet  each,  one  and  one  half  stories  high,  and 
thirty  feet  apart,  which  were  completed  by  winter,  from  oak-trees, 
which  furnished,  without  saw-mill,  the  frame,  the  clapboards,  the 


118  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    0>7E. 

shingles,  and  the  floors,  and  all  except  the  stairs  and  upper  floor; 
which  were  obtained  at  a  saw-mill  twenty-two  miles  distant,  itt 
Waupun.  A  saw-mill  was  also  erected,  and  a  dam ;  and  on  this, 
in  the  hardest  work,  and  most  exposed  labor,  could  be  found  the 
Lone  One,  almost  every  day,  never  to  be  beaten  at  hard  labor, 
nor  outdone  in  devotion  to  what  he  believed  true.  It  was  late  in 
winter  before  the  saw-mill  was  in  running  order,  and  then  the 
stream  was  frozen  too  much  for  use,  and  they  had  to  winter  once 
without  many  boards  for  man  or  beast.  The  hay,  which  was 
abundant,  supplied  the  place  of  boards  for  shelter  for  beasts,  and 
for  beds  for  the  families.  In  this  excursion  the  families  had  been 
left  behind,  and  some  of  them  were  as  impatient  for  their  new 
homes  as  the  husbands  were  to  have  their  wives  with  them  ;  and 
ere  the  dwellings  were  enclosed,  some  families  were  already  on 
the  spot,  brought  by  the  horse-teams,  which  were  kept  constantly 
travelling  from  and  to  the  old  and  new  homes. 

Toward  fall  the  Lone  One  returned  to  his  home,  and  found 
the  mate  had  improved  in  health,  and  all  were  quite  happy 
in  the  little  house.  He  informed  the  quiet  citizen,  M.  F.,  that  he 
was  the  legal  owner  of  all  their  lands  in  Ceresco,  and  that,  in  due 
time,  they  should  call  on  him  for  a  transfer  to  the  real  owners ;  and 
was  assured  that  all  was  safe,  and  that  the  trust  should  be  honor- 
ably fulfilled  to  the  last.  "  0,  dear !  "  said  the  sorry  woman,  "  I 
am  so  fearful  we  shall  not  get  a  home  of  our  own  again,  if  we  sell 
this  and  go  up  there  !  "  —  "I  cannot  think  of  always  working  out 
by  the  day  to  support  my  family,  and  there  would  be  no  other 
chance  for  me  here.  Our  prospects  are  better  there  than  here ; 
and  we  shall  have  a  home  in  the  domain  as  long  as  we  own  a 
share  of  it,  of  course."  —  "  Well,  just  as  you  say;  but  I  don't  feel 
reconciled  to  it;  but,  as  you  have  to  earn  all  we  have,  it  is  right 
for  you  to  control  it."  He  soon  found  a  purchaser  for  the  little 
home,  at  seven  hundred  dollars,  by  taking  a  horse  and  buggy,  and 
other  property  in  part,  and  cash  and  notes  for  the  rest ;  and  their 
effects  were  soon  loaded  on  two  wagons,  and  the  wife  and  children 
in  the  buggy,  and  all  on  their  way  to  the  no  home  for  her,  called 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  119 

the  new  home,  on  the  domain  of  the  Wisconsin  Phalanx.  The  first 
night  found  them  at  Burlington,  where  the  elder  sister,  now  a 
widow,  was  living ;  for  her  kind  husband  had  at  last  shaken  off 
the  consumption  and  his  body  together,  and  gone  to  the  hereafter 
to  fit  a  better  home  for  her.  They  could  not  take  her  and  the 
boys  along,  as  they  would  have  been  glad  to  do,  for  the  new  home 
was  only  new  land  as  yet,  and  they  were  yet  dwelling  in  the  tents, 
but  not  in  the  "  tents  of  wickedness,"  for  they  had  no  rum,  or  drunk- 
enness, profanity,  or  licentiousness,  and  no  lawing,  doctoring,  or 
Gospel-preaching,  and,  therefore,  were  nearly  free  from  the  wick- 
edness of  civilization.  Through  awful  roads  and  rainy  days  they 
at  last  reached  the  hill-top,  which  overlooked  the  plain  below,  and 
were  soon  discovered  by  the  eager  watchers,  for  they  all  felt  the 
necessity  of  the  Lone  One's  presence,  and  willing  feet  brought  happy 
faces  and  ready  hands  to  meet  and  greet  them,  ere  they  reached 
the  quarters  allotted  for  them,  which  were  one  fourth  of  one  floor 
in  one  of  the  dwellings,  parted  from  the  other  three  families 
by  carpet  and  quilt  partitions,  and  from  the  out-doors  by  the 
crooked  oak  clapboards,  through  which  light  and  snow  could  easily 
find  entrance.  Here  they  placed  one  bed  and  a  stove,  and  packed 
and  piled  the  rest  as  best  they  could,  and  thus,  somehow,  eight 
families  lived  in  that  house  through  the  winter,  which,  fortunately, 
was  a  mild  one.  They  all  eat  at  a  common  table  in  the  basement 
of  another  house,  where  all  the  cooking  and  eating  was  done  by,  and 
for,  the  society.  Well  may  you  conjecture,  reader,  that  she  was 
unhappy,  for  she  had  not  partaken  of  the  excitement  that  brought 
others  willingly  here ;  but  she  did  not  scold  nor  complain  much, 
but  tried  to  bear  it  as  well  as  her  feeble  body  would  admit. 

"  She  is  content  to  stay,  and  smile,  and  suffer  ; 
For  when  the  '  golden  gates  '  unclose  for  her, 
She  knows  a  spirit,  that  has  waited  long, 
Will  clasp  hers  in  a  wordless  welcoming  ; 
Making  the  very  memory  of  tears 
A  strange  dream  of  the  night  we  misname  life  ! 
0 !  when  the  sad  smile  trembles  on  her  lip, 


120  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

In  tenderness  for  other  hearts  that  ache, 
She  would  not  barter  hers  —  a  sufferer's  —  boon 
Of  power  to  sympathize,  for  even  the  love 
Most  tearless,  sinless,  sorrowless,  in  heaven  !  " 

The  history  of  the  Wisconsin  Phalanx  would  be  interesting  to 
many  and  useful  to  some,  at  least  in  disabusing  the  minds  of  those 
who  never  heard  any  good  of  it  when  it  was  alive.  But  we  can- 
not give  it  a  place  here,  save  as  it  was  connected  inseparably  with 
this  Life-Line;  for  surely  this  line  run  directly  through  it,  and 
formed  the  main  artery  of  the  body,  without  which  it  would  have 
given  several  convulsive  throes,  and  then  been  dead.  When  the 
families  (about  twenty)  were  all  packed  for  winter-quarters,  and 
the  boys  hunting  fence-timber  and  saw-logs  on  Uncle  Sam's  land, 
then  the  Lone  One  started  to  secure  a  charter,  or  act  of  incorpo- 
ration, for  the  society.  The  act  had  been  carefully  drawn  up  by 
him,  and  submitted  to  the  members,  and  approved,  and  he  was 
authorized  to  secure  its  passage  with  as  few  amendments  as  pos- 
sible. With  this  view  he  visited  several  members  of  the  territo- 
rial legislature,  and  submitted  it  to  them,  and  secured  the  aid  of 
Borne  of  them.  While  on  this  errand,  and  far  from  home,  and 
they  knew  not  where  to  send  for  him,  a  violent  fever  seized  the 
wife  and  son,  and  both  lay  gasping  for  life  in  the  rude  corner  they 
called  home.  Twenty  miles  distant  was  a  skilful  physician  ;  and 
a  faithful  friend,  whose  noble  English  heart  ever  beat  in  unison 
with  the  Lone  One,  made  rapid  strides  till  he  reached  the  home 
of  the  doctor,  and  would  not  allow  any  delay  till  the  doctor  was 
by  the  bedside  and  heard  her  say,  "  My  husband  would  not  allow 
me  to  take  calomel,  nor  will  I  consent  to  its  use  myself  for  either 
of  us." —  "  Then  I  will  do  the  best  I  can  without  it,"  said  he ;  and 
for  eight  days  and  nights  he  did  not  return  to  his  home,  nor  leave 
them  for  many  hours ;  and  on  the  ninth  day  the  Lone  One  re- 
turned suddenly,  unexpectedly,  impelled  by  some  interior  force 
to  him  unknown.  The  physician  said  they  were  both  out  of 
danger,  if  attended  with  great  care,  as  they  had  been  by  the  ever- 
watchful  friends.  Forty  dollars  paid  him,  and  ten  more  the  coun- 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE  LONE   ONE.  121 

gel-doctor,  who  had  been  called  from  Fond-du-lac;  for  tney  all 
expected  she  would  die,  and  did  not  intend  the  husband  should 
attribute  any  neglect  to  them.  Soon  the  boy  was  up,  and  the 
mother  gained  fast  under  the  magnetic  influence  of  her  husband, 
and  soon  was  out  of  danger,  so  he  could  leave  for  the  capital  where 
the  chosen  committee  to  repair  the  laws  of  God  and  man  were 
assembled.  He  was  soon  in  the  lobby,  closely  watching  the  fate 
of  his  bill,  which  did  not  excite  much  opposition  in  the  Assembly, 
but,  by  the  aid  of  his  good  friend,  the  doctor,  from  Fond-du-lac,  who 
was  a  member  in  seat,  was  slowly  and  properly  passed,  with  but 
slight  amendments.  It  then  went  to  the  Council,  where  he  also 
had  some  good  friends,  especially  the  one  who  held  the  titles  to 
their  domain.  But  here  the  cormorants  attacked  it,  because  they 
thought  it  a  good  subject  to  make  capital  on  ;  and  down  came  the 
giant  Argus,  which  was  the  paper  that  watched  the  interests  of 
itself  and  party.  The  Lone  One  offered  replies  and  defence,  and, 
although  a  politician  of  the  same  school  and  party,  theAryus  dare 
not  admit  both  sides, and  it  had  decided  the  bill  evil,  and  only  a  cheat- 
ing scheme,  and  most  especially  a  social  heresy.  But  the  Lone  One 
did  reply  through  the  whig  paper,  and  through  a  daily  democratic 
sheet  in  Milwaukie,  until  the  Argus  was  sorry  it  ever  took  up  the 
subject ;  and  long  after  was  more  sorry  still,  for  it  felt  the  effects 
of  the  injury  it  had  inflicted  on  innocent  persons.  But  the  owners 
got  rich  out  of  the  territory  and  state,  and  therefore  could  afford 
to  have  sore  consciences.  Two  lawyers,  —  one  a  democrat  from  the 
west  part  of  the  territory,  who  fell  through  some  years  after, 
because  he  kept  bad  company  and  bad  counsel ;  and  the  other  a 
whig,  then  rude  and  undeveloped,  but  who  afterward  became  a 
noble  man,  and  the  first  and  best  chief  justice  in  the  state,  —  attacked 
the  bill ;  the  first  to  please  the  Argus,  and  the  last  more  for  sport 
and  fun  than  in  earnest ;  and  it  was  a  hard  conflict  for  the  law,  so 
essential  at  that  time  for  the  security  of  the  settlers.  But  at  last 
the  final  vote  let  it  through,  and  the  rejoicing  man  in  the  lobby 
was  permitted  to  follow  it  to  the  executive  rooms.  "  It  will  not 
compromise  my  democracy  to  sign  it,  will  it  ?  "  said  the  smiling 
11 


122  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

Governor  Tallraadge,  as  he  pleasantly  added  his  approval  to  the 
act,  which  enabled  the  Lone  One  to  return  to  his  anxious  family 
and  more  anxious  friends,  who  were  waiting,  in  deep  suspense,  the 
fate  of  the  charter.  He  soon  reached  home,  and  exceeding  joy  ran 
through  the  crowd  as  they  heard  the  good  news.  "  Now  we  are 
safe,  for  our  property  will  be  in  our  own  hands." 

Soon  the  deeds  were  executed,  and  all  the  property  safely 
lodged  in  the  corporation,  which,  although,  like  all  such  bodies, 
it  had  no  soul,  had  a  name,  and  that  was  the  Wisconsin  Pha- 
lanx. The  officers  were  soon  elected  under  the  charter,  and  the 
"  tempest-in-a-teapot "  excitement,  which  lasted  till  it  was  done, 
all  subsided,  and  the  machine  was  a  thing  of  life  in  the  spring  of 
'45,  —  breaking  and  ploughing  its  way  in  the  new  township  like  a 
"  little  giant."  The  neighbors,  who  had  begun  to  locate  in  the  vicin- 
ity, were  greatly  alarmed  by  it,  and  most  of  them  were  sure  it  would 
do  mischief;  for  it  had  great  power,  they  said,  and  would  monopo- 
lize. They  wished  the  cursed  thing  was  dead.  A  few  only  saw 
no  evil  in  it,  but  only  a  power  for  good.  These  "  four-year-ites  " 
furnished  the  material  and  news  for  prairie-yarns  and  gossip  for 
all  the  region  round  about,  and  tended  greatly  to  alleviate  the 
trials  of  tedious  labor  and  long  patience  in  the  new  homes. 

Summer  of  '45,  the  saw-mill  was  making  boards ;  the  "  long 
home  "  was  going  up  in  sections,  which  continued  to  lengthen  till 
twenty  tenements,  of  twenty  feet  each,  were  joined  together  in 
two  rows,  with  a  hall  between,  all  under  one  roof,  with  a  ridiculous 
plan  of  a  double-front  house  and  hip  roof,  looking  more  like  a 
rope-walk,  or  salt-works,  than  a  house ;  but  it  was  the  best  they 
could  do,  so  the  architect  said,  and  so  the  workmen  responded. 
By  personal  effort,  and  great  struggle,  and  some  jealousy,  the  Lone 
One  did  get  his  tenement  finished  in  the  winter,  and  moved  into  it, 
—  the  most  capacious  house  he  had  ever  occupied  in  Wisconsin ; 
having  one  room  twelve  feet  square  and  a  bed-room  below,  and 
two  bed-rooms  above;  no  cellar,  of  course,  for  they  lived  a 
unitary  life,  which  meant  to  eat  at  a  common  table  and  work  a 
common  farm.  But  the  families  all  had  separate  homes  to  retire  to 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  123 

after  meals.  A  stone  schoolhouse  had  been  erected,  and  a  school 
commenced,  which  never  stopped,  except  for  necessary  vacations, 
till  the  society  ran  out  its  race  ;  and  then  it  left  the  children  of  the 
members  qualified  for  teaching  the  other  schools,  and  children  of 
their  own  ages  around  them.  The  township  was  set  off  and  organ- 
ized, and  an  election  held  on  the  domain  for  town  officers  ;  and,  as 
there  were  only  three  or  four  other  settlers,  of  course  the  officers 
were  elected  from  the  members  of  the  Phalanx.  The  post-office 
also  was  in  their  hands,  but  they  had  to  bring  the  mail  from  Fond- 
du-lac  for  the  proceeds  of  the  office ;  which  they  cheerfully  did,  at 
much  expense,  once  a  week,  for  their  own  and  their  neighbors'  bene- 
fit. They  felt  the  great  advantages  and  economies  of  combined 
labor  and  living ;  but  some  were  not  satisfied  with  the  unitary  life, 
especially  of  houses,  and  sighed  for  the  retirement  of  quiet  meals 
in  family  circles,  as  of  old.  Others  were  greatly  pleased  with 
the  unitary  table.  Both  males  and  females  were  about  equally 
divided  on  this  subject ;  but  the  plan  and  buildings  had  been  com- 
menced for  the  unitary  living,  and  could  not  easily  be  changed 
now.  The  single  men,  of  which  there  were  quite  a  number,  were 
very  much  opposed  to  a  change.  This  apple  of  discord  finally 
grew  until  it  was  of  sufficient  power  to  break  up  the  society,  with 
other  feebler  aids.  In  '46  the  improvements  were  greatly 
extended,  a  grist-mill  erected  for  their  own  use,  and  this  had  to 
be  watched  to  keep  the  envious  neighbors  from  burning  it ;  and  so 
strong  was  the  prejudice  because  they  would  grind  their  own  grain 
in  their  own  mill,  and  would  not,  because  they  could  not,  grind 
for  others.  The  jealousy  increased  as  fast  as  their  prosperity,  and 
the  Lone  One  saw  that  the  only  obstacle  to  success  in  social  and 
cooperative  life  was  the  undeveloped  and  prejudiced  condition  of 
the  people. 

The  widowed  sister  and  her  two  boys  had  been  moved  to 
the  new  home.  A  payment  obtained  on  the  old  home  enabled 
the  younger  sister  to  leave  her  son  and  daughter  with  the  elder ; 
and  now,  nearly  ten  years  after  she  had  left  her  mountain  home  in 
New  Hampshire,  to  think  of  a  first  and  last  visit  to  it.  Soon  all 


124  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE 

was  arranged,  and  she,  feeble  and  emaciated,  started,  piloted  by  one 
of  the  best  of  sea-captains,  who  was  also  on  a  visit  to  his  old 
home  and  family  in  Newburyport,  where  his  wife,  long  accustomed 
to  being  captain  in  his  absence,  had  learned  to  manage  so  well 
that  she  was  captain  when  he  was  at  home,  and  therefore,  to  be  a 
captain,  the  old  gentleman  chose  to  sail  on  the  prairies  of  the 
West,  as  he  was  too  old  to  sail  on  the  ocean.  Safely  they  moved 
down  the  lakes  and  "  raging  canal,"  and  over  the  mountains,  till 
she  reached  her  paternal  home,  where  glad  hearts  welcomed  her, 
as  they  would  not  have  dared  to  do  if  she  had  come  from  the 
spirit-home,  which  she  had  so  often  neared,  but  never  quite 
reached.  Rapidly  her  health  improved,  and  the  release  from 
cares,  and  home,  and  husband,  enabled  her  to  greatly  recruit  her 
natural  powers,  and  become  quite  fleshy  by  the  time  set  for  her 
return  in  the  spring  of  '47. 

"  Is  this  the  spot  where  once  so  well 

My  taskless  childhood  loved  to  stray  ?  — 
Where  now  the  sweet  but  nameless  spell 
That  lured  mine  idle  step  away  ? 

"  The  charms  which  then  my  fancy  fed 

In  vain  I  now  essay  to  find  ; 
The  spirit  of  the  place  is  fled, 
And  left  its  grosser  part  behind. 

"  The  rocks  are  not  so  quaint  and  gray, 

The  leaves  are  not  so  fresh  and  green  ; 
The  brook,  upon  its  noisy  way, 

Is  cheerless  through  the  sylvan  scene. 

"  I  am  not  raptured  now  to  hear 

The  warbled  joys  from  every  bough ; 
The  witching  sky,  so  blue  and  clear, 
Is  but  a  common  prospect  now. 

"  'T  is  I  have  changed  !  for  nature  still 
To  childhood's  heart  is  jnst  as  dear, 
And  forests,  waters,  field,  and  hill, 
Have  music  for  its  listening  ear. 


LIFE-LINE   OP  TUB   LONE   ONE.  125 

"  The  dream  of  youth,  which  comes  to  all, 
Has  passed  like  morning's  starry  train; 
Sweet  memory  may  its  form  recall, 
But  cannot  give  its  power  again. 

*'  The  silvery  streamlet  of  the  glen, 

Which  loves  and  fairies  hovered  o'er, 
Has  flowed  into  the  haunts  of  men, 
And  lost  its  beauties  evermore." 

Thus  she  sang  and  mused  as  the  autumn  closed  its  work  of  dis- 
robing the  trees,  and  winter  drifted  the  high  rocks  under  snow, 
and  the  April  suns  sent  the  white  sleet  foaming  down  the  cliffs. 
Then  she  sighed  for  her  pets  and  her  distant  home  again,  with  all 
its  perils  and  trials.  She  was  accompanied,  on  her  return,  by  a 
cousin  who  came  West  to  visit  a  sister  in  the  Sucker  state,  and  who 
soon  married  there  and  engaged  in  raising  Suckers,  beside  her  sis- 
ter. They  were  met,  on  their  return,  by  the  Lone  One,  at  Sheboy- 
gan,  and  visited  their  old  Southport  home,  then  slowly  returned  to 
their  new,  but  to  her  ever  less  happy,  one,  for  not  yet  was  she  imbued 
with  the  principles  of  associative  life.  The  Phalanx  was  now  in 
the  days  of  its  prosperity  ;  increased  its  lands  to  near  two  thousand 
acres,  and  its  stock  to  about  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  its  fam- 
ilies to  over  thirty,  and  members  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
Most  of  them  ate  at  one  table,  and  worked  together  on  the  domain. 
Had  a  good  and  successful  system  of  rewards  for  labor,  by  which 
they  were  not  troubled  with  drones  —  danced  one  evening  in  each 
week,  or  rather  the  dancers  did.  Our  family,  whose  line  runneth 
herein,  never  danced  nor  sung  ;  but  the  Lone  One  usually  preached 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  practised  all  the  week.  He  also  kept  the 
public  well  informed  of  their  success  and  prospects,  through  the 
Boston  Investigator,  the  Phalanx,  and  Harbinger,  and  later  the 
Univerccelum,  for  which  he  wrote  during  its  life.  The  latter  was 
almost  worshipped  at  the  domain,  —  at  least,  registered  as  the  best 
of  papers,  —  the  little  Pleasure  Boat,  of  Capt.  Hacker,  too,  sailed 
out  there.  But  we  must  close  this  Phalanx  history,  and  let  it 
rest,  for  other  lines  require  our  record-pen.  Capt.  I).  P.  Mapos 


126  LTFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

had  settled  in  the  town,  and  declared  war  against  the  Phalanx, 
although  in  sentiment  he  held  opinions  nearly  the  same  as  its 
leaders,  especially  on  religion  and  politics  ;  but  he  was  jealous  of 
its  power.  He  was  a  brave  captain,  but  he  could  never  make 
any  headway  in  this  opposition,  but  only  served  as  an  outside 
pressure  to  crowd  them  closer  together,  and  prevent,  for  a  time, 
the  internal  pressure  from  separating  them.  But  at  last  the  inter- 
nal pressure  overcame  the  external,  and  the  Phalanx  died  of  a 
lingering  fever  in  its  collapse.  It  was  interred  in  its  own  bury- 
ing-ground,  by  its  own  children,  and  the  requiem  sung  by  its  own 
council,  and  its  epitaph  written  by  the  Lone  One,  about  as  follows: 
ISorn  in  the  spring  of  1844,  in  Southport,  Wis. ;  nursed  and  edu- 
cated by  several  teachers,  but  principally  by  the  Ladies  Advocate ; 
married  in  1845,  by  the  Territorial  Legislature,  to  the  statutes  of 
Wisconsin  (the  wife  died  when  the  territory  became  a  state) ; 
certified  by  Gov.  Tallmadge ;  settled  and  lived  in  Town  Sixteen, 
llange  Fourteen,  which  it  named  Ceresco,  in  honor  of  Ceres,  a  corn- 
goddess,  of  which  it  was  a  worshipper;  grew  and  flourished, 
and  controlled  the  town  for  several  years,  until  it  "  took  sick," 
first  of  chills  and  fever,  and  finally  of  severe  fever,  which  weak- 
ened its  vital  powers,  until  in  1850  it  died,  quietly  and  resignedly, 
having  reigned  six  years  triumphantly,  and  put  all  enemies  under 
its  feet,  by  its  justice  and  honor.  —  Owned  a  large  farm,  which 
was  divided  among  its  children,  greatly  improving  their  estates, 
and  leaving  all  but  the  Lone  One  better  than  it  found  them.  — 
Had  been  a  great  stock  and  grain  grower,  raising  in  one  season  as 
high  as  ten  thousand  bushels  of  wheat.  —  Had  one  genius  who 
did  most  of  its  preaching  and  law  business,  and  others  who 
attended  to  the  sanitary  department. — Never  used  intoxicating 
drinks,  nor  allowed  them  on  its  farm.  —  Never  used  profane  lan- 
guage, nor  allowed  it,  except  by  strangers. —  Never  had  a  law' 
suit,  nor  legal  counsel.  —  Had  little  sickness,  and  no  religious  revi- 
vals.—  Never  had  a  case  of  licentiousness,  nor  a  complaint  of 
immoral  conduct.  —  Lived  a  strictly  moral,  honest,  upright,  and 
virtuous  life,  and  yet  was  hated,  despised,  abused,  slandered,  lied 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  127 

about,  and  misrepresented,  in  all  the  country  round  about, —  mostly 
by  preachers.  —  Kept  a  school  of  its  own  all  the  time.  —  Took 
five  or  six  newspapers  to  each  family.  —  Stopped  work  on  Sunday 
to  accommodate  the  neighbors,  and  rung  its  bell  for  meetings 
—  But  they  danced  without  rum,  or  vulgarisms  and  profanity.  — 
They  had  aieetings  without  prayers,  and  babies  without  doctors.  — 
But  it  was  prematurely  born,  and  tried  to  live  before  its  propei 
time,  and,  of  course,  must  die  and  be  born  again.  So  it  did,  and 
here  it  lies. 

The  charter  was  amended  so  as  to  allow  a  closing  up  of  the 
affairs,  and  the  books,  papers,  and  business,  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Lone  One  ;  and  by  him  all  deeds  and  legal  papers  were  exe- 
cuted, and  all  the  business  settled  and  closed,  leaving  the  books  in 
the  hands  of  the  still  living  president  of  the  dead  Phalanx.  The 
papers  noticed  its  death,  and  some  rejoiced,  and  some  were  sorry ; 
but  many  true  friends  mourned  throughout  the  land,  and  none 
more  than  some  of  its  heirs.  But  not  the  Lone  One  ;  for  he  had 
seen  the  necessity  for  its  death,  and  submitted  to  fate  willingly. 
In  the  division  and  sale  of  the  estate,  he  bought  a  portion  of  the 
fine  large  mansion,  which  had  been  erected,  but  not  finished,  and 
lots  for  a  garden  ;  and  again,  with  his  own  hand,  soon  had  a  better 
house  than  ever  before,  and  a  fine  garden ;  soon  made  up  his  loss, 
and  was  worth  more  than  when  he  came  to  the  domain,  although 
he  had  expended  much  of  the  little  sum  he  received  for  the  old 
house  in  defending  the  system,  by  lectures  and  letters,  etc.  The 
burying-ground  (six  acres)  and  the  bell  still  belong  to  the  estate, 
and  are  to  be  heired  by  the  last  survivor  of  the  domain. 

DIRGE    OF    THE    PHALANX. 

•WRITTEN    IN   CEBESCO,   BUT   NOT   BY   ONE   OF   ITS   HEIRS. 

What  spot  shall  I  choose  for  my  long,  last  home, 
When  a  wanderer  on  earth  I  shall  cease  to  roam  ? 
When  the  angel  of  death  shall  come  sweeping  by, 
And  his  cold  breath  shall  close  my  weary  eye  ? 
When  above  my  heart  lies  the  cold  damp  sod, 
And  rny  spirit  returns  to  its  maker,  God  ? 


128  LIFE-LINE   OF   TIIE   LONE   ONE. 

0  !  say,  shall  I  lie  by  the  ocean's  side, 

Where  my  grave  will  be  surged  by  the  briny  tile? 

Where  the  sea-gull  screams,  and  the  wild  waves  roar 

As  their  fury  breaks  on  the  craggy  shore? 

Say,  is  that  the  place  where  my  form  shall  rest, 

AY  hen  the  winding-sheet  is  upon  my  breast  ? 

Or  some  drear  spot  in  the  church-yard  share, 
Without  e'en  a  flower  above  me  there, 
Where  alike  are  buried  both  friend  and  foe, 
When  the  arrow  of  death  has  laid  them  low?  — 
Not  there,  not  there,  would  I  wish  to  lie, 
In  the  cold,  cold  grave,  when  I  come  to  die. 

But  dig  me  a  grave  in  the  prairie  land, 

Far  away,  far  away,  from  the  ocean  sand, 

Where  my  friends  may  come,  when  their  work  is  done, 

And  sing  o'er  my  grave  at  the  set  of  sun 

The  song  whose  music  was  wont  to  thrill 

My  heart  e'er  the  pulse  of  life  was  still. 

0  !   there  is  the  place  I  would  wish  to  lie, 
When  the  angel  of  death  shall  have  sealed  mine  eye  ; 
And  my  friends,  should  ever  they  chance  to  roam 
Near  the  spot  I  have  chosen  for  my  long  home, 
Let  them  kneel  by  my  grave  and  breathe  a  prayer 
For  the  friend  who  is  sleeping  in  silence  there. 

It  had  no  soul  to  be  saved.  One  more  feeble  effort  at  associa- 
tive advantages  was  made  after  the  burial  of  the  Phalanx,  and  dur- 
ing the  settlement  of  the  estate,  by  a  few  friends  who  joined  the 
Lone  One  in  the  enterprise.  A  large  and  commodious  store  was 
erected,  by  shares,  and  the  Protective  Union  plan  adopted  to  sup- 
ply it;  and  thus  an  attempt  made  to  purchase  merchandise,  and 
market  the  products  of  their  labor,  by  agency,  and  save  the  enor- 
mous profits  of  merchants.  This  enterprise  "  started  and  run  well 
for  a  season,"  but  a  fever  of  somewhat  different  character  from 
that  which  proved  fatal  to  the  Phalanx  seized  its  vitals,  and  it 
cost  so  much  to  pay  the  doctor,  that  its  friends  abandoned  it, 
perhaps  rather  cruelly,  but,  as  it  seemed  at  the  time,  necessarily; 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  129 

and  of  course  it  died,  and  was  buried,  and  its  estate  settled  itself; 
but  the  store  stands  on  its  foundation  still,  a  fading  monument  of 
premature  birth,  much  resembling  good  principles  in  bad  company. 
Now  all  the  reformers  of  Cercsco  joined,  and  sang  one  song,  and 
parted.  The  song  was  written  by  one  N.  Brown,  some  time,  and 
somewhere,  and  ran  as  follows : 

"  My  heart  is  sick,  my  soul  is  pained  within, 

To  see  this  Babel-world  so  rent  with  strife  ; 
To  hear  its  heartless  shouts,  its  Babel-din, 
As  onward  flow  the  feverish  streams  of  life  : 

There  rush  the  worshippers  of  gold  and  pelf  ; 

Here  stand  the  human  gods  of  pride  and  self. 

"  Behold  the  struggle  !  the  mad,  selfish  rush 

For  shining  baubles  or  a  beggar's  crust ! 
In  vain,  divines,  ye  try  the  tides  to  hush, 

Though  hearts  are  dead  or  bleeding  in  the  dust : 
There  kneels  the  nabob,  drawling  out  a  prayer; 
Here  dies  the  o'er-worked  victim  in  despair. 

"  Like  chaos-fragments  strewn  upon  life's  sea, 

And  hastening  onward  to  an  uncarcd  shore,  — 
Whirling  and  dashing  ever  as  they  flee,  — 

Leaping  and  crashing  'mid  the  storm-king's  roar, 
Is  the  mad  world  of  men.     Wrecked  is  the  world 
By  self  and  sense,  to  very  chaos  hurled. 

"  Gold,  give  me  gold,  though  dimmed  with  orphan's  tears  ! 
Fame,  give  me  fame,  though  bought  with  human  gore  I 
Away  with  heart  and  soul  —  away  with  fears  !  — 

Gold,  gold,  though  here  's  the  grave,  yet  give  me  more  ! 
Shut  up  the  book  ;  talk  not  of  brotherhood  ; 
Man  lives  for  self,  not  for  the  common  good. 

"  For  untold  ages  thus  the  world  hath  gone, 

By  self  and  sense  in  broken  fragments  riven, 
Yet  yearning  still  for  a  millennial  dawn, 

When  this  same  world  should  be  a  type  of  heaven. 

Talk  not  of  heaven,  or  of  a  golden  age, 

While  social  ills  in  ceaseless  battles  rage. 


130  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

"  Ten  thousand  temple-domes  in  grandeur  rise 

Where  priestdom  learned  expounds  the  '  word  of  life,' 
Where  man  is  taught  to  live  but  for  the  skies, 
And  leave  to  Satan  this  mad  world  of  strife  ; 

Where  Sinai's  flames  assay  the  soul  to  awe, 

And  creed  is  worshipped  as  the  saving  law  ! 

"  The  human  mind  by  threats  of  heavenly  wrath 

Has  long  been  chained  within  a  narrow  sphere  ; 
Like  a  poor  blind  man  groping  for  the  path, 

Yet  fearing  still  that  pitfalls  opened  near.  — 
Thus  man,  alas,  choosing  a  moral  night, 
Lest  reason  lead  him  from  the  creed's  dim  light. 

"  The  world  is  rich  in  musty  lore  and  creeds  — 

In  mysticism,  and  in  temple  show  — 
In  spirit-chains  ;  but  poor  in  brother  deeds 

To  the  great  brotherhood  of  man  below. 
The  central  truth  designed  the  world  to  save 
Is  crushed  by  self  to  a  dishonored  grave  !  " 

This  was  the  last,  and  these  the  only,  experiments  ever  made 
by  the  Lone  One  at  associative  or  cooperative  life;  and  these  the 
only  societies,  public  or  private,  to  which  he  ever  belonged ;  and 
they  died  so  young  they  did  not  destroy  his  heirship  to  the  name 
of  Lone  One. 

SECTION  II. 

POLITICS   AND    THE    POLITICIAN. 

We  must  now  turn  back  to  '47,  and  fetch  up  the  lagging  stream 
in  this  current  of  life-history.  Wisconsin  Territory  began  to 
scold  about  her  rights,  and  demanded  larger  hoops  for  her  skirt, 
and  larger  dresses  for  her  form ;  and,  after  considerable  fretting, 
finally  proved,  by  the  number  of  her  soles  (not  years),  that  she  was 
old  enough  to  leave  the  nursery,  and  be  her  own  mistress.  Uncle 
Sam  was  glad  to  get  rid  of  the  troublesome  flirt,  if  she  would 
cease  squalling  for  wider  skirts  on  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  sides, 
and,  with  that  restriction,  gave  her  permission  to  run  at  large,  and 
dress  herself. 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  131 

The  "  unterrified  democracy,"  who  are  always  on  the  alert  when 
offices  are  to  be  filled,  sounded  the  tocsin,  and  called  their  local 
conventions,  to  double  up  in  counties,  and  organize  for  action. 
The  Lone  One  was  born  nothing,  and  almost  nowhere ;  but  he  was 
educated  into  democracy,  and  heard  the  sound.  He  called  the 
roll  for  democrats  in  the  Phalanx ;  but  a  majority,  including  wom- 
en, were  whigs  or  nothing.  However,  there  were  enough  demo- 
crats to  hold  a  meeting,  and  send  him  to  the  county  session,  where 
a  ticket  for  the  campaign  was  to  be  put  up,  and  those  elected  over 
the  territory,  to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five, 
were  to  assemble,  and  adopt  a  constitution,  and  submit  it  to  the 
voters  for  acceptance.  The  whigs  were  not  much  later  in  action, 
and  equally  efficient ;  and,  although  less  numerous  in  the  territory, 
they  were  not  less  zealous.  But  Ceresco  had  no  ambitious  whig, 
and  took  no  part  in  the  caucus.  Notwithstanding  the  strong  prej- 
udice against  the  Fourierites  and  the  Phalanx,  still  the  Lone  One 
received  the  nomination  as  one  of  the  three  to  represent  Fond-du-lac 
county  in  the  constitutional  convention.  The  other  two  and  their 
friends  were,  however,  greatly  concerned  lest  they  should  be  de- 
feated by  his  connection  with  the  unpopular  society.  The  day  of 
election  came,  and  the  whigs  of  the  Phalanx  had  resolved  to  nip 
the  ambition  of  the  aspiring  democrat  in  the  bud,  and  labored 
hard  to  prove  it  was  not  best  fur  him  to  be  elected,  and  did  suc- 
ceed in  leaving  him  one  or  two  votes  behind  his  colleagues  in  the 
town.  But  in  the  county  he  was,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  so  far 
ahead  as  to  be  the  only  one  elected  on  the  ticket ;  and,  with  the 
two  whigs  from  the  other  ticket,  he  went  to  the  capital  at  the  time 
appointed,  to  make  his  debut  as  a  political  actor  on  the  stage,  and 
inside  the  circle.  The  convention  was  a  motley  group,  called  from 
city  and  town,  from  prairie  and  grove,  from  forest  and  "  deep-tan- 
gled wild-wood ;  "  fat  and  lean,  short  and  tall,  bright  and  dull,  keen 
and  stupid,  democrats  and  whigs,  and  some  who  could  only  register 
when  they  saw  which  was  strongest  —  and  that  did  not  take  long, 
for  democracy  was  greatly  in  the  ascendant.  Some  half  a  dozen 
saucy  lawyers  expected,  and  determined,  to  rule  the  convention. 


132  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE. 

and  make  all  the  noise  for  their  own  glory.  But  they  soon  found 
some  material  that  was  not  so  easily  whipped  down,  and  among 
the  most  "  unruly  members  "  was  the  saucy  tongue  of  that  Fou- 
rierite,  which  he  soon  learned  to  use  as  freely  and  sarcastically  as 
the  best  of  them.  But,  as  he  ever  used  it  to  defend  the  weak, 
and  those  who  needed  defence  against  the  arrogance  and  abuse  of 
impudent  demagogues,  he  of  course  made  friends  of  such,  and 
even  commanded  the  respect  of  those  who  did  not  love  him. 

The  capital  was  situated  on  a  beautiful  eminence  between  two 
lakes,  at  a  place  called  Madison.  The  building  was  erected  and 
enclosed  with  ten  acres  of  the  land,  purchased  of  those  who  never 
ownod  it,  by  Uncle  Sam,  and  of  course  given,  as  an  outfit,  to  the 
daughter  when  she  married  the  Union.  A  greater  variety  of  "  odd 
sticks  "  was  probably  never  assembled  since  the  "  Council  of  Nice  " 
than  was  now  in  session  at  this  capital,  to  make  a  constitution  for 
a  still  greater  variety  of  people.  The  white-haired  sage  and 
beardless  boy,  the  thinking  sceptic  and  superstitious  fanatic,  the 
sober  conservative  and  the  fiery  radical,  the  hunker  wheel-horse 
and  the  prancing  progressionist,  those  who  pray  and  those  who 
swear,  those  who  preach  and  those  who  sleep,  speculators  and 
honest  men,  knaves  and  fools,  —  "  all  mingle,  mingle,  while  you 
mingle  may."  It  was  a  long  session,  and  made  great  noise  ;  but, 
like  the  "  mountain  in  labor"  "  a  mouse  was  born."  As  the  Lone 
One  was  a  leader  of  the  progressionists,  and  had  much  influence 
in  securing  such  features  in  the  instrument  as  rendered  it  too 
radical  for  the  people,  and  partly  caused  its  defeat,  and  as  this 
was  the  first  chance  he  had  to  record  his  political  views  on  public 
records,  it  is  proper  to  notice  some  of  the  leading  principles  he  ad- 
vanced and  defended.  His  first  blow  was  aimed  at  capital  pun- 
ishment. It  met  a  good  reception  in  the  convention,  and  might 
have  succeeded,  but  for  the  alarm  raised  by  several  lawyers  and 
preachers,  and  the  awakened  Christians,  who  "  would  have  sacrifice, 
and  not  mercy ;  "  and  they  voted  him  down  as  a  matter  of  expe- 
diency. But  he  labelled  them  with  somebody's  poem. 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  133 

"  How  is  it,  when  you  doom  to  death 

Some  victim  for  his  crimes, 
Accounting  him  not  fit  to  live, 

You  still  allow  him  time 
To  make  his  peace  with  God  for  what 

Yourselves  will  not  forgive  ; 
Presuming  him,  when  fit  to  die, 

As  not  yet  fit  to  live? 

"  Now,  though  he  be  not  fit  to  live, 

Is  he  prepared  to  die  — 
Sent  strangled  from  this  world  of  woe 

Before  his  God  on  high  ? 
You  send  unto  his  darkened  soul 

Repentance  and  the  priest, 
And  when  reduced  to  penitence 

You  hang  him  like  a  beast. 

"  How  can  you  know  just  how  much  time 

Your  victim  should  be  given 
For  such  repentance  as  shall  send 

His  spirit  pure  to  heaven  ? 
Supporters  of  the  bloody  code, 

I  pause  for  a  reply  : 
How  is  it,  if  unfit  to  live, 

A  man  is  fit  to  die?  " 

His  next  attack  was  upon  the  qualification  of  voters ;  and  he 
exposed  the  ridiculous  position  of  those  persons,  or  laws,  which 
make  color,  or  sex,  a  qualification  to  vote,  or  even  age,  and  de- 
manded an  intellectual  standard,  or  a  taxation  standard.  Some 
were  amused,  and  some  horrified,  at  the  proposition  to  let  women 
and  "  niggers  "  vote ;  and  almost  all  voted  against  the  women,  and 
all  but  fourteen  against  striking  out  color  as  a  test ;  by  which  he 
saw  the  men  would  sooner  let  the  negroes  have  their  rights  than 
the  women,  and  he  was  confirmed  in  what  he  before  believed,  that 
the  slavery  of  women  was  deeper,  and  more  lasting,  than  that  of 
negroes  in  the  hearts  and  prejudices  of  the  people,  and  even  often 
approved  and  sustained  by  woman  herself.  How  can  she  expect 
the  "  lords  of  creation  "  to  give  her  her  rights,  when  she  does  not 
12 


134  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

ask  for  them  ?  But  he  recorded  his  vote  for  the  right,  even  if 
alone,  and  left  it  to  await  the  "good  time  coming;  "  for  well  he 
knew  all  these  principles  must  triumph,  if  the  race  continued  to 
progress.  Next  came  the  right  of  married  women  to  hold  and 
control  real  estate.  On  this  they  had  a  great  contest,  but  it  suc- 
ceeded, and  was  incorporated  in  the  instrument,  and  was  one  of 
the  principal  features  that  caused  its  defeat,  although  the  agitation 
brought  the  public  mind  up  to  it,  and  it  became  one  of  the  early 
and  permanent  statutes  of  the  state,  and  remains  there  "  to  this 
day."  Next  came  his  firm  and  uncompromising  opposition  to  land 
monopoly,  and  in  favor  of  limitation  of  titles  to  occupancy.  But 
this  was  a  vain  effort ;  for  the  supreme  law  of  the  nation,  to 
which,  in  that  day,  the  people  knew  no  "  higher  law,"  was  in  the 
way,  and  they  could  not  disturb  the  absolute  power  of  the  govern- 
ment to  give  titles  to  the  lands  it  had  obtained  of  the  Indians, 
who  only  borrowed  it  of  God,  and  had  no  right  to  sell  it.  These 
principles  could  only  find  an  expression  in  a  limitation  of  leases, 
to  prevent  what  will  probably  never  again  occur,  the  "  anti-rent 
troubles  "  of  the  Rensellaer  estates.  He  next  planted  himself 
against  all  military  shows  and  parades,  and  endeavored  to  crowd 
the  whole  system  out  of  use.  But  several  old  fogies  were  there 
who  had  no  other  honor,  and  could  not  afford  to  lose  rank,  and 
title,  and  honor,  and  they  voted  him  down. 

He  was  a  democrat  of  the  Jackson  school  on  "  banks  and 
banking,"  and  took  the  hard-money  side  with  the  hardest  of  the 
hards ;  and  thus  aided  in  adding  this  fatal  dead  weight  to  the  in- 
strument. He  next  planted  himself  against  all  laws  for  the  col- 
lection of  debts,  and  would  have  swept  away  the  whole  system  of 
civil  policy  on  this  subject.  It  was  not  difficult  to  prove  that  the 
cost  of  collection  was  greater  than  the  amount  collected,  in  every 
state,  and  almost  every  county,  of  the  nation,  and  that  it  would 
be  better  to  tax  the  people  with  the  debts  than  with  the  cost  of 
collection.  There  was  in  the  territory  an  old,  thick-skulled  hunker 
judge,  —  Miller,  —  who  holds  to  this  day  a  post  of  profit  (but 
not  honor  to  him),  who  was  for  some  years  greatly  alarmed  at  thia 


LIFE-LINK   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  135 

heresy  and  prospective  innovation,  and  tried  to  make  others,  if 
not  himself,  believe  it  was  unconstitutional.  Whether  he  was  so 
blind  he  did  not  see,  as  the  simplest  reasoner  would,  that  if  the 
state  repealed  its  collecting  laws,  and  enacted  none,  they  would 
not  be  unconstitutional,  is  more  than  we  can  say  of  him.  But 
more  than  this  record  proves  that  he  was  very  much  wanting  in 
judgment  and  perception,  although  he  had  much  dignity,  and  a 
"  little  learning,"  which  Pope  said  was  a  "  dangerous  thing."  Of 
course  this  measure  could  not  succeed  in  this  convention,  and  the 
Lone  One  did  not  expect  it  to ;  but  he  wished  to  agitate  the  subject, 
and  give  promise  of  the  future.  There  were  many  able  advocates  of 
this  measure  in  the  state,  and  among  the  early  ones  his  old  friend, 
who  so  safely  held  the  titles,  and  so  readily  surrendered  them. 

These  were  not  all,  but  some,  of  the  principal  radicalisms  and 
wild  vagaries  that  gave  the  Lone  One  notoriety  in  his  first  public 
mission.  He  was  ever  found  in  his  place,  and  always  had  a  word 
to  say  for  every  proposed  extension  of  freedom  and  rights  to  all, 
and  ever  went  for  the  largest  liberty  and  broadest  platform.  He 
had  already  become  quite  an  extensive  writer ;  and  during  this 
session  he  often  pictured  for  the  press  the  scenes  and  persons,  and 
gave  many  comic,  and  some  ludicrous,  descriptions  of  the  prominent 
actors,  the  effects  of  which  were  felt  long  after,  and  proved  it  true 
that  "  A  chiel  's  amang  ye  takin'  notes,  an'  faith  he  '11  prent 
'em."  Like  all  long  things,  this  convention  had  its  last  as  well 
as  first  end ;  and  all  returned  to  their  homes,  some  to  deny  and 
oppose  their  work,  and  some  to  support  it,  and  the  Lone  One  of 
the  latter  class ;  and  both  tongue  and  pen  were  occupied  in  its 
defence  ;  but  it  was  no  go.  The  voters  laid  it  out,  and  the  terri- 
torial session  assembled,  and  called  another  convention,  of  about 
seventy  members,  to  prepare  another.  Most  of  the  old  members 
were  sluin  in  the  conflict,  and  did  not  appear  again  at  the  capital 
for  some  years.  The  Lone  One  was  returned  by  his  county  as  one 
of  the  two  delegates,  by  a  large  and  greatly  increased  majority 
over  the  other  election,  and  met  there  five  —  only  five  —  of  the 
first  delegation.  He  soon  found  this  a  more  conservative,  but  far 


136  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

more  practical,  body,  and  one  in  which  he  could  exert  more  influ- 
ence, and  on  which  he  could  place  more  reliance,  than  the  first. 
He  felt  much  more  at  home  in  this  body  than  in  the  other ;  but  he 
had  learned,  by  the  result  of  the  last  election,  the  true  position  of 
the  people,  and  knew  about  what  they  would  bear  of  reforms  and 
radical  measures,  and  was  not  inclined  to  crowd  reform  measures 
before  the  people  were  ripe  for  them,  nor  to  insert  in  a  constitution 
what  belonged  exclusively  to  the  statutes  of  a  state.  He  soon 
found  his  place,  as  the  journal  shows ;  the  most  active  member  of 
the  convention  ;  in  his  seat  every  hour  of  the  session  ;  voting  on 
every  question.  This  time  he  succeeded  in  leaving  out  the  mili- 
tary code,  and  all  militia  laws.  He  secured  the  civil  rights  of  all 
persons  as  jurors  and  witnesses,  whatever  their  views  of  God  or 
religion,  and  found  many  good  friends  to  cooperate  with  him  in 
such  sanitary  provisions.  They  also  inserted  a  provision  designed 
especially  to  prevent  the  legislature  from  employing  chaplains,  and 
other  useless  appendages  to  its  sessions  ;  but  the  provision  is  dis 
regarded.  Capital  punishment,  homestead  exemption,  rights  of 
married  women,  collecting  laws,  and  usury  laws,  &c.,  were  all  left 
for  the  legislature  to  tamper  with  as  the  people  would  bear  or 
demand.  The  banking  question,  of  which  the  Lone  One  was 
chairman,  was  the  worst  and  most  difficult  of  all,  after  such  a 
hard  defeat  of  the  hards  ;  and  still  the  return  of  democrats  showed 
the  politics  had  not  changed.  The  subject  was  at  last  adjusted 
somewhere  between  two  extremes,  and  the  short  and  business-like 
session  adjourned. 

Is  it  strange,  reader  ?  —  when  the  Lone  One  returned  to  the 
tenement  in  the  long  home,  from  this  convention,  he  found  another 
boy  had  been  added  to  the  family,  —  not  one  of  those  returned 
who  had  gone  away,  but  a  new  one ;  came  from  God,  the  pious 
old  women  said ;  but  he  thought  it  came  from  its  parents.  Either 
way,  it  was  a  pretty  child,  and  they  concluded  to  keep  it.  The 
elder  sister  and  her  two  boys  drifted  slowly  over  the  way  to  her 
eastern  friends ;  and  neither  she  nor  others  knew  his  regret  at  his 
inability  to  assist  and  even  support  her ;  but  he  was  poor  yet,  for 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  137 

his  expenses  were  exceeding  his  receipts  each  year,  while  the  quiet 
laborers  on  the  domain  were  gaining  fast  under  his  system  of  pol- 
icy, with  which  he  was  satisfied.  "  But  how  are  the  honors  iu 
these  two  games  of  politics  ?  "  asked  a  friend.  "  Are  you  any- 
thing by  honors  ?  "  —  "  Yes,"  he  replied ;  "  I  am  two  by  honors, 
and  nothing  by  tricks."  — "  Then  you  do  not  play  your  hand 
well;  better  take  me  for  a  partner."  —  "No,  never!  I  shall  pad- 
dle tny  own  canoe  in  every  storm,  and  sink  or  swim,  as  fate  will 
have  it."  —  "  Go  your  own  way,  then  ;  I  shall  oppose  you."  This 
came  from  the  colleague  in  the  last  convention  who  lived  in  the 
liquor-end  of  the  county,  and  wished  to  attend  to  the  drinkers, 
and  get  the  Lone  One  to  aid  him  with  his  temperance  friends ; 
and  thus  they  could  win  by  tricks  in  selfish  games  of  political 
chess.  But  he  was  the  Lone  One  in  this,  as  in  all  else ;  never 
entered  a  league,  nor  joined  any  society  but  the  Phalanx,  and  that 
promised  now  to  be  sufficient  as  a  school  of  experience.  The 
friends  were  glad  to  see  him  home,  for  they  had  many  tangles  to 
be  straightened  out  as  he  each  time  returned  ;  and  some  did  work 
up  a  prejudice  against  him,  because  he  possessed,  and  yielded  to, 
ambition  in  political  life.  But  it  was  a  school  in  which  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  graduate  for  future  usefulness,  although  he 
did  not  then  know  it. 

Who  make  politics  a  trade,  and  struggle  for  the  spoils, 
Had  better  take  to  spades,  and  shuffle  in  the  soil. 

Ye  worker  in  the  soil,  tell  me,  if  you  can,  where  is  the  happy 
man  ?  Statesman,  politician,  merchant,  lawyer,  doctor,  preacher, 
Christian,  pagan,  heathen,  tell  me,  if  you  can,  where  is  the  happy 
man  ?  "  Not  I !  not  I !  "  cries  each  and  all ;  but  Pope  replies, 

"  Man  never  is,  but  always  to  be  blessed." 

Heaven  is  in  the  future,  happiness  in  the  distance,  and  we  are 
going  to  it,  certainly.  "  Hope  springs  immortal  in  the  buman 
breast."  A  little  longer,  and  yet  a  little  longer. 

The  work  of  the  second  convention  was  readily  accepted  by  the 

12* 


138  LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE    ONE. 

people,  although  many  thought  the  first  constitution  the  better  of 
the  two ;  but  there  were  too  many  impatient  office-seekers  to  longer 
delay  in  starting  the  machinery  of  state.  Provision  was  soon 
made  for  an  election,  and  the  conventions  assembled  to  set  up  the 
candidates,  to  be  shot  at  by  friend  and  foe, —  one  shooting  to  kill,  and 
the  other  to  save,  the  mark.  The  pen  of  the  Lone  One  had  start- 
ed, not  soon  to  stop  ;  and  he  had  already  become  a  scribe  of  some 
note,  both  far  from,  and  near  to,  home ;  and  his  articles  (not  al- 
ways over  his  own  name)  were  often  trite  with  satire,  or  keen  with 
acumen,  or  graphic  in  description,  or  prophetic  for  politicians,  and 
often  had  a  marked  and  wide  effect  where  the  author  was  unknown. 
The  friends  of  the  Lone  One,  after  a  long  and  hard  contest,  at 
length  secured  his  nomination  for  the  state  Senate,  for  the  district 
comprising  Fond-du-lac  and  Winnebago  counties,  to  which  fell  a 
full  term  of  two  years ;  and  at  the  canvass,  again,  to  the  surprise 
of  friends  and  foes,  he  was  elected  with  an  aggregate  majority  of 
two  hundred  against  his  ticket  in  the  district,  and  three  Assembly- 
men of  the  opposite  party  in  the  other  branch,  and  every  effort  of 
his  former  democratic  colleague  made  in  secret  to  defeat  him. 
But  the  Germans  had  caused  the  result,  for  they  knew  he  was  the 
friend  of  human,  and  of  equal,  rights ;  and  some  of  his  letters, 
without  his  knowledge,  had  been  translated,  and  circulated  among 
them,  and  caused  the  result.  This  proved  to  be  his  graduating 
class;  for  after  this  all  other  degrees  were  merely  honorary. 
When  the  roll  was  called,  the  Lone  One  was  in  his  place  in  the 
Senate  of  law-makers  for  the  new  state,  better  prepared  than  ever 
before  for  public  or  private  duties.  For,  some  time  before  this,  he 
had  quit  the  filthy  habit  of  smoking,  had  abandoned  forever  the 
use  of  swine's  fle.^h,  and,  at  that  time,  even  all  meats ;  and  tea 
and  coffee,  and  other  mixtures,  were  forbidden  drinks.  His  gran- 
ulated eyelids,  which  had  annoyed  him  for  ten  years,  soon  recov- 
ered their  healthy  condition  ;  his  mind  was  calm  ;  and  his  excita- 
ble, passional  nature  was  quiet  as  a  calm  sea  in  a  still  atmosphere. 
Thus  he  was  prepared  for  duty.  Other  causes  than  political  ones 
had  induced  these  changes,  which  will  be  given  in  due  time. 


LIFE-LINE   OP  THE   LONE    ONE.  139 

At  the  assembling  of  the  session,  he  met  an  old  and  intimate 
friend,  whose  political,  religious,  and  social  opinions  corre- 
sponded with  his  own ;  and  for  the  two  sessions  they  occupied 
the  same  desk,  and  became  the  "  David  and  Jonathan "  of  the 
Senate,  usually,  but  not  always,  voting  on  the  same  side  of  ques- 
tions. Among  the  first  permanent  laws  secured  was  a  homestead 
exemption,  without  a  pecuniary  limitation ;  thus  securing  a  great 
principle,  for  which  they  had  both  been  early  advocates.  The 
darling  object  of  the  Lone  One,  to  repeal  the  usury  laws,  and  let 
money  seek  its  own  market  and  value,  like  any  other  commodity, 
passed  the  Senate,  but  was  lost  in  the  House ;  but,  at  the  next  ses- 
sion, passed  both,  and  remained  the  law  two  or  three  years,  when 
the  speculators  again  triumphed,  and  set  up  the  usury  "  statute  of 
limitations,"  as  a  screen  for  rogues,  which  was  all  it  ever  was  in 
any  state,  allowing  them  to  take  transfers  of  property,  to  avoid 
the  law.  Of  course  the  repeal  of  the  collecting  laws  was  intro- 
duced ;  but  the.  lawyers  dare  not  submit  the  question  to  the  peo- 
ple, lest  it  should  succeed,  and  the  collecting  business  find  an  end. 
The  death  penalty  could  not  be  removed  at  this  term ;  but,  after 
three  or  four  years'  fight  with  the  religious  bigots  who  defended  it, 
it  was  at  last  removed,  and  the  state  came  up  where  she  ought  to 
have  been  before.  The  rights  of  married  women  to  hold  property, 
real  and  personal,  were  soon  and  early  secured ;  and  thus  that  prin- 
ciple, at  first  so  odious,  was  secured,  and  the  state  not  ruined  by 
its  adoption.  Senators  to  Congress  were  elected,  and  pledged  to 
"  Land  Reform  ;  "  and  strong  resolutions,  drawn  by  the  Lone  One, 
were  passed  in  favor  of  "  free  soil,"  in  its  true  sense.  Commis- 
sioners to  revise  the  statutes  were  selected;  and, by  extraordinary 
effort,  David  and  Jonathan  secured  the  election  of  the  Southport 
friend,  who  held  the  titles  for  the  Phalanx,  as  one  of  them  ;  for  he 
was  a  good  man  and  true,  as  well  as  capable.  Some  old  laws  were 
repealed,  and  some  new  ones  enacted ;  and  soon  the  business  of 
the  first,  the  summer  session  was  closed. 

The  commissioners  commenced  their  labor,  and  the  members 
returned  home  to  attend  to  elections,  etc.  Many  questions  and 


140  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

points  of  controversy  arose  in  these  sessions,  in  which  it  would  be 
interesting  to  the  politician  to  see  the  course  and  vote  of  this  sin- 
gular person ;  but,  as  our  Line  is  for  all  sorts  of  readers,  we  must 
be  brief  in  these  sketches,  for  there  is  a  longer  line  of  another 
quality  to  follow.  We  must,  however,  say,  he  was  ever  true  to 
the  principles  which  had  governed  him  through  life,  of  equal 
rights,  without  distinction  of  sex  or  color,  to  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.  Some  one  asked  him  how  he  could  take  the 
oath ;  to  which  he  replied,  that  he  never  did  take  an  oath,  and 
never  should,  but  entered  upon  his  duties  as  an  officer,  or  juror,  or 
witness,  with  an  affirmation  of  the  simplest  nature  allowed  by 
law;  and  he  did  endeavor  to  dispense  with  all  forms  of  oath  in  tho 
state,  and  let  the  penalties  attach  to  the  falsehood  or  default,  as 
they  ever  should.  He  sustained  the  constitution  against  the 
chaplains;  but  the  profane  and  dissipated  members,  who  needed 
some  support,  always  succeeded  in  giving  them  a  chance  in,  by  the 
aid  of  a  few  honestly  pious  ones,  who  felt  it  a  religious  duty. 

During  this  session  the  little  daughter  came  very,  very  near  a 
change  of  spheres,  by  a  lung  fever;  and  but  for  the  magnetism  of  her 
physician,  rather  than  his  medicine,  no  doubt  would  have  crossed  tho 
line.  The  pale  babe,  too,  had  its  sick  time,  and  the  feeble  mother 
had  "heaps"  of  trouble  and  trial  —  almost  enough  to  kill  a  well 
woman ;  but  she  lived,  and  so  did  the  children,  for  God  had  con- 
cluded not  to  take  away  any  more  of  them,  and  had  also  resolve,! 
not  to  send  any  more  to  that  house. 

Soon  after  his  return,  the  tangles  of  the  Phalanx,  and  the  fam- 
ily, were  picked  out,  and  some  progress  made  in  straightening  the 
political  tangles  of  the  county  and  state.  But  these  were  too 
extensive  for  one  mind  to  arrange,  although  the  poet  hath  said, 

"  The  steady  Greeks  old  I  Hi  urn  won  ; 
By  trial  all  things  may  be  done  " 

And  another,  that 

"  A  man's  best  things  are  nearest  him, — 
Lie  close  about  his  feet  ; 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  141 

It  is  the  distant  and  the  dim 
That  we  are  sick  to  meet." 

In  1848  the  national  campaign  called  all  the  voters  to  the 
defence  of  their  respective  candidates,  and  Lewis  Cass  was  placed 
before  the  democrats.  But  the  positions  he  occupied  on  some 
questions  of  policy  were  widely  at  variance  with  those  advocated 
by  the  Lone  One  or  his  senator-friend,  and  they  both  rebelled 
against  authority,  and  refused  to  support  him  ;  and  both  took 
bold  and  open  ground  against  his  election,  covering  their  retreat 
from  the  democratic  nomination  by  the  Buffalo  platform,  and  the 
support  of  the  foxy  Van  Buren,  who  was  really  not  as  good  a  man 
at  heart  (as  subsequent  events  proved)  as  even  Cass;  but  it  was 
principles,  not  men,  they  claimed.  This  closed  a  door  which  was 
already  open  for  the  Lone  One  to  pass  to  Congress.  And  no  doubt 
luckily  for  him  ;  for  it  was  well  for  his  spiritual  development  that 
his  political  ambition  was  cut  short  at  the  end  of  this  time.  For 


:  Our  feelings  and  our  thoughts 


Tend  ever  on,  and  rest  not  in  the  present." 


"  In  the  human  heart 

Two  master-passions  cannot  coexist." 

The  second  session,  which  followed  close  on  the  heels  of  the 
first,  was  a  very  important  session  to  the  future  welfare  of  the 
young  state  ;  for  the  whole  code  of  its  laws  was  remodelled  by  it, 
principally  by  introductions  from  the  commissioners.  The  legal 
ability  displayed  by  the  Lone  One  in  the  first  session  gave  him  in 
the  second  a  place  on  the  judiciary  committee  of  three,  which,  in 
this  revising  session,  was  constantly  taxed  with  complicated  and 
vexing  questions ;  but  the  benefit  of  his  rigid  system  of  diet  —  his 
cool  head  and  devoted  heart  —  were  of  great  use  to  him  and  his 
colleagues,  both  of  the  committee  and  the  Senate.  By  his  special 
care  and  effort  the  divorce  laws  were  greatly  changed  from  the 
report  of  the  commissioners,  and  nearly  as  he  wished  them,  but 
not  quite ;  for  he  wished  all  cases  arising  under  them  entirely  at 


142  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

the  discretion  of  the  court,  whether  presented  by  one  or  both  o< 
the  parties  in  contract.  An  observation  of  the  civil  contract  which 
we  call  marriage,  in  its  practical  workings,  had  convinced  him 
that  it  should  be  subject  to  general,  and  not  special,  laws  regulat- 
ing civil  contracts,  and  treated  and  controlled  as  other  contracts 
between  contracting  parties.  But  the  facts  are,  that  the  law  has 
never  recognized  woman  as  capable  of  doing  a  legal  business  —  of 
binding  or  unbinding  herself;  and  hence  the  special  laws  of  mar- 
riage and  divorce  in  all  countries  where  they  have  laws  and  mar- 
riages. Of  course  we  must  trot  in  the  beaten  path  where  our 
fathers  trotted,  however  rough  and  crooked  the  way ! 

At  this  session  he  early  secured  the  repeal  of  the  usury  laws, 
and  several  other  obstructions  to  prosperity ;  and  it  was  generally 
admitted  throughout  the  state  that  no  member  in  the  Senate  did 
more  business  or  had  more  influence  than  the  Fourierite.  But  his 
most  intimate  friend,  and  almost  always  co-worker  for  reforms, 
was  not  wanting  in  effort,  capacity,  or  devotion.  The  schools  and 
university  of  the  state  were  set  in  motion,  and,  in  fact,  all  the 
important  machinery  of  a  new  state  had  to  be  put  in  place  and 
motion  by  these  two  sessions ;  and  all  persons  who  studied  the 
condition  and  prospects  of  Wisconsin  admitted  the  liberality  and 
advanced  condition  of  her  constitution  and  laws,  much  of  which 
was  really  the  effect  of  action  and  influence  exerted  by  the  Lone 
One  and  his  brother.  During  these  four  sessions  which  he  had  spent 
at  the  capitol  he  never  drank  even  a  single  glass  of  any  kind  of 
liquor  at  a  bar  or  counter,  except  lemonade  or  soda,  nor  met  with  a 
single  dinner  or  supper  party,  except  at  ordinary  meals  ;  attended 
no  balls,  dances,  or  night  meetings  of  any  kind,  and  joined  no 
riding  or  skating  parties ;  but  was  always  steady,  constant,  atten- 
tive to  business,  and  ever  in  his  place  in  session,  or  at  his  quiet 
and  retired  private  boarding-house  when  out  of  session,  or  walking 
with  his  friend  the  senator  from  Southport.  Among  other  labors 
of  the  session,  he  wrote  and  published  a  personal,  mental,  physical, 
political,  present  and  prospective  description  of  each  senator  and 
state  officer.  These  likenesses  ought  to  have  been  hung  in  the  cap- 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE  LONE   ONE.  143 

itol,  with  the  frame  that  contained  their  faces.  His  style  and  expres- 
sion betrayed  him  as  the  author,  and  some  were  offended  at  the  bold- 
ness with  which  he  told  the  truth  about  them.  But  fretting  would 
only  serve  to  prove  him  correct,  for  he  knew  them  well,  having 
examined  most  of  their  heads ;  and,  being  well  read  in  phrenology, 
physiology,  and  psychology,  and  fully  posted  in  politics,  he  had 
advantages  that  no  other  possessed  in  that  body,  and  he  used  them 
when  he  chose  to  do  so.  One  thing  puzzled  them  all  (except  the 
brother),  and  that  was,  who  wrote  the  description  of  the  writer. 
They  thought  it  was  too  severe  to  be  his  own  hand.  But  this  only 
proved  that  they  did  not  know  him  as  he  did  them. 

This  was  the  graduating  term  of  the  Lone  One.  All  his  offices 
after  this  term  were  professorships.  He  certainly  graduated  with 
honors,  for  no  man  in  the  state  was  more  popular  with  the  people ; 
and  had  he  not  left  the  great  democratic  party,  which  alone  had 
power  to  bestow  offices  for  the  state,  he  could  have  received  any 
office  in  the  state.  And  even  with  his  change  to  the  new  and 
weak  party,  he  would  soon  have  risen  to  place  and  power,  had 
he  not  abandoned  the  field  of  political  labor.  But  he  had  seen 
enough  of  political  intrigues,  traffic,  toil,  and  tricks,  and  was  fully 
resolved  to  leave  the  arena  to  gladiators.  His  labors  closed  at 
the  capitol,  and  the  affairs  at  home  once  more  arranged,  the  preju- 
diced members  of  the  Phalanx  guessed  he  would  stay  at  home 
now,  as  he  belonged  to  a  party  that  could  not  elect  him  to  office. 

In  '49  he  attended  the  conventions  of  the  "  Free-Soil  "  party — 
ever  the  champion  of  Land  Reform  especially ;  and,  in  the  cam- 
paign of  that  fall,  he  received  the  nomination  of  his  party  for 
governor,  and  its  vote,  which  brought  him  the  vote  of  two  large 
counties  in  the  south  part  of  the  state,  B,acine  and  Wallworth, 
and  gave  him  more  than  both  his  opponents  in  his  own  town,  and 
left  him,  at  the  canvass,  at  the  head  of  his  ticket,  in  numbers  aa 
well  as  position.  But  this  was  honor  minus  profits  and  duties. 

At  the  assembling  of  the  session  for  '50,  a  necessary  alteration 
in  the  charter  of  the  Phalanx,  to  enable  them  to  close  their  affairs, 
and  settle  their  own  estate,  brought  him  again  to  the  capitol, 


144  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

when  the  farce  of  the  lobby,  so  long  kept  up,  of  choosing  a  sove- 
reign governor,  called  him  to  the  place,  and  gave  him  a  chance  to 
deliver  a  satirical  message,  which  took  the  veil  off  some  persons 
and  events,  and  pointed  like  a  significant  hand  for  some  politi- 
cians a  way  to  oblivion,  or  "  salt  river."  Some  idea  of  the  effect 
may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  a  neighbor,  to  whom  he  gave  the 
manuscript,  sold  in  three  days  copies,  in  pamphlet,  to  the  amount 
of  one  hundred  dollars,  in  the  capitol.  He  soon  secured  the 
amendment  to  his  charter,  and  returned  home ;  for  he  could  never 
be  found  long  where  he  had  no  business,  and  his  business  was  now 
in  settling  the  estate  of  the  Phalanx.  He  prepared  a  new  and 
greatly  abbreviated  form  of  blank  deed  for  his  use,  and,  as  notary 
public,  used  them  as  long  as  he  remained  a  citizen  of  Ceresco. 
In  '51  he  was  again  called  to  the  capital  to  defend  the  name  of  the 
town  against  the  proposed  change  to  Ripon,  which  Captain  Mapes 
and  others  attempted,  who  had  now  started  a  whiskey,  beer,  and 
tobacco  village  on  the  hill,  and  secured  the  services  of  a  pettifogger 
from  one  corner  of  the  town  to  get  up  law-suits.  But  the  Lone  One 
was  chairman  of  the  town  board,  and  had  most  of  the  town  officers 
on  the  side  of  Ceresco  for  a  name.  They  of  course  prevented  the 
change  at  that  time,  and  for  several  years  after.  But  the  Hipon 
village  was  very  much  opposed  to  its  more  steady  and  sober 
neighbor  in  the  valley,  and  kept  up  a  constant  strife,  until  the 
speculating  Ripon  at  last  outgrew  and  conquered  its  rival.  But 
this  was  not  till  after  the  Lone  One  had  ceased  to  make  any 
efforts  to  sustain  the  valley  home,  and  begun  to  look  out  a  home 
elsewhere  for  his  family.  One  more  game,  and  we  end  this  line 
of  history,  which  does  not  connect  well  with  the  first  or  last 
chapter  of  the  narrative. 

Fifty-two  came.  Again  the  national  tocsin  sound,  To  arms,  ye 
politicians!  ;m<l  the  Lone  One  was  registered  as  one  of  the  vice- 
presidents  of  the  National  Convention  at  Pittsburg,  and  one  of  its 
speakers  also.  From  thence  he  returned,  received  a  nomination  as 
one  of  the  electors  on  the  Hale  and  Julian  ticket,  and  again  came 
off  with  honors  only ;  for  at  the  canvass  the  David  and  Jonathan 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  115 

—  for  both  were  on  it  —  found  their  names  had  led  the  ticket, 
although  the  preacher  at  Ceresco  had  stricken  them  off,  because 
they  were  believers  in  spiritual  life,  from  evidences  which  he  did 
not  possess.  This  was  the  last  game,  and  closed  the  political 
career  of  the  Lone  One.  On  counting  up,  he  found  himself  six 
by  honors  and  nothing  by  tricks,  and  concluded  he  was  not  a  good 
player,  and  had  better  abandon  the  game  forever. 

"  Only  in  lowly  places  sleep 

Life's  flowers  of  sweet  perfume, 
And  they  who  climb  Fame's  mountain  steep 

Must  mourn  their  own  high  doom." 
But, 

.  .  .  .  "  Fortune  at  her  will  bestows 
On  mortal  works  the  appointed  close  ; 
And  sometimes  have  the  better  men, 
Through  guile  of  worse,  supplanted  been." 

Like  the  father  of  our  country,  on  one  occasion,  the  Lone  One 
was  now  between  the  two  contending  armies,  and  received  the 
shots  and  abuse  of  both  ;  and  of  course  it  was  a  glorious  place  to 
die  a  political  death,  and  be  buried  with  honors. 

SECTION  III. 

AFFECTIONAL   DEVELOPMENT. 

We  cannot  better  introduce  this  section  and  subject  than  by  the 
following  beautiful  unpublished  gem,  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  F.  0. 
Hyzer,  of  Vermont,  entitled  Love  : 

"  That  impulse  rising  in  the  soul 
Which  needeth  form  or  chain 
Its  warm  outgushings  to  control, 

Which  reason  must  restrain, 
Lest  it  should  make  defrauding  claim, 
I  would  not  clothe  with  Love's  sweet  name. 
13 


146  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   03TE. 

"  I  would  not  call  that  Love  which  could 

Be  poisoned,  marred,  or  stained  ; 
Which  could  by  any  wealth  be  bought, 

By  any  power  be  chained ; 
Which  could  not  take  unerring  flight, 
Guided  by  its  own  magnets  bright. 

"  0,  no,  thou  pearl-winged  dove,  go  forth! 

I  'd  scorn  to  check  thy  flight  ; 
Soar  onward  wheresoe'er  thou  wilt, 

Where'er  thou  wilt,  alight; 
I  know  thine  own  God-given  powers 
Will  guide  thee  to  celestial  bowers. 

"  Go  forth  in  freedom,  —  seek  no  guide, 

Save  that  deep  pulse  within, 
Which  swelleth  like  the  ocean-tide, 
Where  thou  hast  found  thy  kin, 
Then  fill  thy  cup  with  bliss  divine,  — 
Thou  canst  not  drink  what  is  not  thine. 

"  Trust  thy  attractions,  and  in  turn 

Attract  whate'er  thou  wilt; 
I  know  that  in  thy  nature  burns 

No  flame  of  lust  or  guilt  ; 
Thou  couldst  fold  up  thy  wings,  and  rest 
Within  the  purest  angel's  breast. 

"  When  man  can  make  the  new-born  spring 

Withhold  her  fragrant  breath, 
Or  the  eternal  spirit  bring 
An  offering  unto  death, 
Then  thy  white  wing  may  feel  the  chain 
Which  now  is  forged  for  thee  in  vain. 

"  Go  forth  !     Enraptured  I  behold 

Thee  spread  thy  snowy  wing  ; 

So  will  I  love  the  fragrant  dews 

Thou  e'er  dost  from  it  fling. 
Go  !  naught  can  bind  thee,  spirit-dove  ;  — 
Wert  thou  not  free,  thou  wert  not  Love." 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE    LONE   ONE.  147 

The  unfolding  of  the  affections,  in  the  ripened  years  of  man  or 
womanhood,  is  not  often  the  gist  of  a  novel,  but  it  may  form  a 
part  of  a  life-line,  and  it  must  certainly  have  a  place  in  this ;  but,  of 
all  subjects  to  talk  or  write  upon,  the  subject  of  the  affections  and 
the  relation  of  the  sexes  is  the  most  delicate  and  difficult.  This 
arises  mainly  from  the  fact  that  few  persons  have  any  heart-love, 
or  pure  affection,  but  in  ita  place  have  a  passional  and  sexual 
love  only;  and  such  persons  ever  judge  others  by  themselves, 
measure  others  by  their  own  ritheous  rule,  and  of  course  cannot 
appreciate  the  motives  or  feelings  of  those  whose  souls  have  been 
touched  by  a  living  coal  from  the  altar  of  celestial  and  pure  love. 
Much  of  this  is  owing  to  a  want  of  proper  respect  for  woman 
as  woman,  equal  with  man,  both  in,  and  out  of,  marriage. 
When  she  is  properly  educated,  made  more  free  and  equal  to 
man,  she  will  become  far  less  the  object  of  lust,  and  more  the 
companion  and  associate,  and  have  a  greater  influence  in  elevating 
and  refining  the  too  often  polluted  and  lustful  partners,  now  so 
often  the  tyrants,  instead  of  true  husbands  and  fathers,  as  they 
should  be.  It  was  not  until  the  tobacco,  pork,  and  coffee,  had 
been  turned  out  of  the  diet,  and  the  mind  had  been  schooled  in 
studies  of  physiology,  and  moral  and  mental  science,  that  the 
Lone  One  began  to  discover  his  own  position  and  condition,  and 
the  relation  he  bore  to  others,  both  of  his  household  and  the 
world.  A  new  fountain  of  feeling  burst  forth  within  him,  higher, 
holier,  purer,  and  more  devoted,  than  he  ever  felt  or  knew  before. 
As  it  increased  in  power,  it  restrained  the  animal  and  passional 
impulses,  and  craved  food  congenial  to  its  own  nature,  purely 
spiritual  and  affectional.  How  could  the  poor  victim  of  poverty  and 
disease,  child-bearing  and  hard  labor,  with  whom  he  had  journeyed 
long,  but  whose  advantages  had  been  less  favorable  than  his  own, 
reach  this  condition  as  soon  as  he  did,  and  respond  to  the  demands 
of  his  ardent  soul  in  its  new  requirements  ?  Of  course  she  could 
not,  and  did  not,  and  the  demand  of  his  soul  was,  in  this  higher 
department  of  its  nature,  responded  to  by  another,  far  more  ad- 
vanced than  himself  in  the  purest  and  holiest  aspirations  of  tha 


148  LIFE-LINE   OP  THE  LONE   ONE. 

soul,  and  led  onward  and  upward  by  her.  But  outwardly  she  was 
far  more  unhappily  situated  than  himself.  Between  them  ran  a 
current  of  written  correspondence  for  several  years  of  as  pure  lan- 
guage and  ideas  as  were  ever  expressed  in  written  words ;  and 
never  was  there  a  purer,  more  reserved,  chaste,  and  truly  mental 
correspondence  carried  on  between  two  mortals  than  between 
these  two.  Seldom  did  they  see  each  other,  and  when  they  did 
meet  their  meeting  was  public,  and  of  the  most  chaste  and 
reserved  delicacy.  Any  other  would  have  disgusted  her  or 
repulsed  him.  It  has  ever  been  designed  by  the  Lone  One  to 
publish  a  volume  of  this  correspondence,  and  it  has  been  preserved 
for  that  purpose ;  for  it  contains  many  gems  of  pure  thought, 
and  much  philosophy  of  the  present  and  future  life,  worthy  an 
extensive  reading.  The  change  in  him  was  not  understood  by  the 
mate,  and  of  course  was  attributed  to  a  wrong  cause,  nor  could 
he  explain  it  to  her ;  for  her  time  and  condition  of  appreciation 
had  not  yet  arrived.  Deep  and  terrible  trials  were  yet  awaiting 
her,  from  which,  in  due  time,  she  was  to  come  as  one  from  great 
tribulation,  having  her  robes  washed  and  white  in  the  trials  of 
martyrs  to  reform.  I  am  aware  that  it  will  be  casting  "  pearls 
before  swine  "  to  say  much  of  this  holiest  subject  in  all  our  nature, 
in  this  book,  or  elsewhere ;  but  it  is  due  to  truth  and  justice  in 
the  narrative  to  give  the  causes  of  the  highest  and  holiest  de- 
velopment of  the  moral,  social,  and  affectional  nature  in  the  sub- 
ject of  the  narrative,  and  certainly  no  one  cause  contributed  so 
much  as  the  language  and  influence  of  this  noble  lady. 

" Met  her  when  the  bridal  wreath 

Had  long  been  withered  from  her  brow  ; 
When  she  had  learned  no  love  had  breathed 

In  the  words  of  her  marriage  vow. 
Her  heart  unwon,  her  hand  she  gave 

To  one  who  knew  its  value  not,  — 
Buried  beneath  a  living  grave 

Love  which  yet  knew  no  happier  lot  !  " 

Unfortunately,  as  it  then  seemed,  —  but  fortunately,  as  it  after- 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  149 

ward  proved, — on  one  occasion,  after  this  delicate  and  refined  corres- 
pondence had  continued  for  years,  —  every  word  of  which  might  be 
published  in  connection,  with  the  willing  consent  of  both  parties, — 
one  of  her  letters  was  opened,  through  mistake,  at  his  home,  in  his 
absence ;  and,  being  left  on  the  desk,  by  foul  means  was  stolen  by 
some  neighbor  before  he  returned,  or  ever  saw  it,  and  placed  in 
the  hands  of  a  priest  of  Beelzebub,  who  copied  it  to  suit  his  pur- 
pose, with  as  many  interpolations  as  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  has, 
and  sent  it  floating  around  the  country  to  prove  this  Infidel,  Fou- 
rierite,  and  Spiritualist,  was  more  licentious  than  himself,  when  his 
own  wife  had  been  compelled  by  his  brutal  lusts  to  flee  with  her 
babe  to  her  own  paternal  home  for  protection.  This  furnished 
him  an  ample  subject  for  slander  and  gossip,  and  kept  the  public 
inquiry  from  his  own  case  for  a  while.  It  was  also  a  glorious 
event  for  the  pettifogging  doggery  lawyer  of  Ripon,  who  had  a 
suffering  victim  with  marks  of  his  treatment  that  pointed  to  the 
grave-yard,  and  in  whose  power  no  decent  female  would  be  safe, 
unless  guarded  by  others.  The  garbled  copies  of  the  letter 
reached,  probably,  near  fifty  in  number,  or  perhaps  more ;  but  it 
was  never  published,  because  that  would  show  it  was  in  and  of  the 
most  pure  and  chaste  subject,  and  language.  But  allusions  were 
made  to  it  in  many  slanderous  newspaper  articles,  as  started  by 
the  pettifogger  and  preacher. 

The  great  stories  of  the  preacher,  who  was  prolific  in  words, 
soon  led  some  persons  to  seek  out  the  female,  and  discover  that 
nearly  the  whole  of  his  stories  were  lies.  But  he  was  gone  —  he 
had  left  his  sting,  and  fled,  like  the  wasp.  His  church  and  false- 
hoods fell  with  him.  This  pressure  of  public  prejudice  bore  hard 
on  the  inside  of  the  little  home ;  for  now  she  feared  that  her  con- 
jectures were  true,  and  that  his  real  and  true  affections  had  strayed 
from  his  home.  But,  0,  how  little  did  she  know  of  him  in  this 
her  trial-hour  !  But  when  the  sunlight  burst  upon  her,  as  it  did 
soon  after  this,  0,  what  a  glorious  morn  of  the  purer  and  holier 
day,  which  has  ever  since  been  brightening  into  its  noon !  But 
ihe  Lone  One  was  not  alone  in  this  trial-time ;  for  he  had  many 
13* 


150  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

true  and  warm  friends,  who  knew  his  life  and  motives  were  as  far 
above  the  licentious  rabble  as  the  sun  above  a  glow-worm ;  and 
they  obtained,  as  near  as  possible,  a  true  copy  of  the  original  let- 
ter, and  easily  proved  to  the  candid  there  was  neither  improper 
nor  unchaste  language  in  it.  But  the  circumstance  came  near 
breaking  the  sensitive  heart  of  the  author,  whose  soul  was  as  sin- 
less as  an  angel  in  this  and  all  her  acts,  and  as  far  above  the 
brutes  who  abused  her  as  the  angels  are  above  them. 

"  A  whisper  woke  the  air  — 
A  soft,  light  tone,  and  low, 
Yet  barbed  with  shame  and  woe  ; 
Now  might  it  only  perish  there, 
Nor  further  go  ! 

"  Ah,  me  !  a  quick  and  eager  ear 

Caught  up  the  little  meaning  sound  ! 

Another  voice  has  breathed  it  clear, 
And  so  it  wanders  round 

From  ear  to  lip,  from  lip  to  ear, 

Until  it  reached  a  gentle  heart, 
And  that  —  it  broke  ! 

"  It  was  the  only  heart  it  found, 
The  only  heart  't  was  meant  to  find, 

When  first  its  accents  woke  ; 
It  reached  that  tender  heart  at  last, 
And  that  —  it  broke  ! 

"  Low  as  it  seemed  to  other  ears, 
It  came  a  thunder-crash  to  hers  — 
*  *  *  * 

'T  is  said  a  lovely  humming-bird, 
That  in  a  fragrant  lily  lay, 
And  dreamed  the  summer  morn  away, 

Was  killed  by  but  a  gun's  report, 

Some  idle  boy  had  fired  in  sport  — 
The  very  sound  a  death-blow  came  !  " 

This  letter,  magnified  into  scores,  and  even  hundreds,  by  report, 
also  formed  the  basis  for  magnifying  the  pure  and  most  valuable 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  151 

correspondence  he  ever  carried  on  with  a  mortal  into  a  constant 
stream  of  letters  from  scores  of  women,  which  the  vulgar  and  licen- 
tious were  now  sure  he  retained  over  the  country,  amounting  to  a 
concubinage  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  wise  Solomon.  But  the 
stories  ran  till  they  ran  themselves  out,  or  broke  of  their  own 
weight.  But  the  correspondence  was  continued  for  some  years 
after  this,  and  until  its  mission  to  both  hearts  was  completed. 
When  it  ended  he  was  far  more  pure  in  soul  and  heart,  and  she 
not  less  —  (for  she  could  not  be  more)  —  than  when  it  begun;  and 
certainly  he  was  never  less,  but  ever  more,  attached  and  devoted 
to  his  home  and  family,  through  all  this  growth  and  development 
of  his  higher  affectional  nature. 

""  'T  is  bitter  to  endure  the  wrong 

Which  evil  hands  and  tongues  commit, 

The  bold  encroachments  of  the  strong, 
The  shafts  of  calumny  and  wit  — 

The  scornful  bearing  of  the  proud, 

The  sneers  and  laughter  of  the  crowd. 

"  And  harder  still  it  is  to  bear 

The  censure  of  the  good  and  wise, 
Who,  ignorant  of  what  you  are, 

Or  branded  by  the  slanderer's  lies, 
Look  coldly  on,  or  pass  you  by 
In  silence,  with  averted  eye. 

"  But  when  the  friends  in  whom  your  trust 

Was  steadfast  as  the  mountain  rock 
Fly,  and  are  scattered  as  the  dust 

Before  misfortune's  whirlwind  shock, 
Nor  love  remains  to  cheer  your  fall  — 
This  is  more  terrible  than  all  ! 

"  But  even  this,  and  these,  —  ay,  more,  — 

Can  be  endured,  and  hope  survive  ; 
The  noble  spirit  still  may  soar, 

Although  the  body  fails  to  thrive  : 
Disease  and  want  may  wear  the  frame  — 
Thank  God  !  the  soul  is  still  the  same  ! 


152  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

"  Hold  up  your  head,  thou  man  of  grief  1 

No  longer  to  the  tempest  bend  ; 
For  soon  or  late  must  come  relief — 

The  coldest,  darkest  night  will  end. 
Hope  in  the  true  heart  never  dies  ; 
Trust  on,  the  day-star  yet  shall  rise  ! 

"  Conscious  of  purity  and  worth, 

You  may  with  calm  assurance  wait 
The  tardy  recompense  of  earth  ; 

And,  e'en  should  justice  come  too  late 
To  soothe  the  spirit's  homeward  flight, 
Heaven  at  last  the  wrong  shall  right." 

Through  this  correspondence  his  soul's  highest  and  holiest  affec- 
tions were  cultivated,  expanded,  and  ripened,  like  the  flowers  of 
June  under  the  glowing  sunlight.  His  heart  grew  rich  in  fra- 
grance and  purity,  and  shed  its  influence  on  others;  thus  rend  r« 
ing  himself  still  more  and  more  an  object  of  suspicion,  jealousy, 
and  gossip  for  the  wicked  and  corrupt,  who  could  see  no  motive 
for  any  man  to  converse  or  correspond  with  females  except  a 
lustful  or  licentious  one,  as  none  other  could  prompt  such  acts  in 
themselves.  Little  did  they  know  how  much  he  pitied  their  con- 
dition, and  deplored  their  depravity.  But  they  could  not  be 
lifted,  except  by  long  years  of  "  prayer  and  fasting,"  from  their 
slavish  and  brutal  conditions.  Therefore  he  resolved  to  labor  in 
the  field  where  more  congenial  sunlight  shone  around  the  homes ; 
and  for  that  purpose  sought,  far  and  near,  the  spot  to  which  he 
could  move  his  family,  and  have  a  society  of  congenial  beings 
where  his  mate  could  unfold  her  higher  and  purer  nature,  which 
was  even  more  elastic  than  his  own,  and  more  depressed  than  his 
had  been,  but  which  he  knew  would  soon  or  late  come  up  to  the 
surface  of  life. 

In  travelling  he  found  many  friends,  and  usually  the  best  of 
them  among  the  most  refined,  and  educated,  and  developed 
females.  With  several  of  these  he  carried  on,  more  or  less  regu- 
larly, correspondence,  until  the  accumulation  would  fill  several 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  153 

large  volumes ;  much  of  which,  with  changes,  is  still  continued. 
The  present  wife  of  A.  J.  Davis  was  among  those  with  whom 
he  corresponded  in  her  days  of  trial,  and  a  purer  soul  than  hers 
never  uttered  words  through  human  lips ;  and  she,  with  many 
others  who  could  be  named,  can  bear  testimony  to  the  nature  and 
character  of  his  letters,  and  they  ever  will  when  called  upon  to  do 
so.  No  female  voice  ever  charged  him  with  wrong  act  or  motive 
to  herself,  or  in  her  own  knowledge;  for  all  the  slanders  were 
inverted  mirage,  groundless,  without  facts,  and  mainly  rested  on 
the  fatal  letter.  No  suit,  civil  or  criminal,  was  ever  commenced 
against  him  on  earth  or  in  heaven,  neither  here  nor  in  the  here- 
after. He  had  more  and  warmer  friends,  and  more  bitter  enemies, 
than  any  one  in  the  state ;  and  there  was  a  reason  for  it,  and  that 
reason  lay  in  his  own  nature  and  capacities  of  soul.  When  the 
"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  "  for  married  women  shall  be  written,  as  it 
surely  will,  the  readers  will  find  the  Lone  One  was  among  the 
number  whose  sympathies,  at  least,  were  ever  with  the  sufierers, 
and  not  for  selfish  but  for  beneficent  purposes,  as  many  already 
know ;  for  many  a  sad  heart  can  say,  with  one  of  his  corres- 
pondents : 

"  I  had  labored  to  make  my  garden  fair, 
But  the  river  of  love  was  not  flowing  there, 
And  the  flowers  I  tilled  had  a  poisonous  breath, 
That  fell  on  my  heart  like  the  dews  of  death  ; 
Still  hope  would  toil  on,  o'er  the  deep  lines  of  care, 
And  the  sadness  so  mournfully  resting  there 
Told  plainly  I  struggled  to  conquer  despair." 

The  political  and  associational  history  both  close  in  this  fourth 
decade ;  but  the  social,  the  afiectional,  and  the  one  yet  to  be  taken 
up,  the  spiritual,  all  run  into  the  next,  and  no  doubt  far  beyond 
this  volume  into  the  future,  to  "  no  one  knows  where,"  but  surely 
to  the  hereafter.  Up  to  the  January  of  '53,  where  this  chapter 
must  end,  the  light  of  a  glorious  development  of  soul  in  its  high- 
est affections  had  not  burst  in  upon  the  mate  of  the  Lone  One ; 


154  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

but,  like  the  ice  under  March  winds  and  suns,  the  crust  was  begin- 
ning to  soften,  and  air-holes  for  the  pent-up  soul  to  breathe  were 
occasional,  and  plainly  his  rejoicing  soul  saw  the  signs  of  its 
approaching  summer-time.  For  well  he  knew  the  hardest  ice 
must  yield  to  spring,  and  the  darkest  cloud  pass  over. 

"0,  who  the  exquisite  delights  can  tell, 
The  joy  which  mutual  confidence  imparts  ? 
Or  who  can  paint  the  joy  unspeakable 
Which  links  in  tender  bands  two  faithful  hearts?  " 

"  The  shaken  tree  grows  faster  at  the  root ; 
And  love  grows  firmer  for  some  blasts  of  doubt." 

How  few,  very  few,  know,  or  rather  feel,  the  true,  and  holy, 
and  pure  afiection  for  each  other  in  married  life  that  really 
belongs  to  the  conjugal  condition  of  the  soul !  Most  married  par- 
ties live  only  domestically  and  sexually  together,  but  affectionally 
are  utter  strangers.  Nor,  indeed,  can  any  person  live  in,  or  enjoy, 
the  holy  and  noble  afiection  of  which  his  nature  is  capable,  while 
love  is  merely  sexual.  Persons  who  do  not  love  each  other  with- 
out the  relation  which  marriage  places  them  in  to  each  other  can 
never  do  it  in  such  relation.  Most  persons  who  have  reached 
the  plane  of  spiritual  development  are  happy  in  any  relation  of 
life,  provided  they  are  not  made  the  victims  of  lust,  or  the  slaves 
of  brutal  partners,  who  tyrannize  over  them  and  whose  love  is 
only  lust  or  ambition. 

"  I  have  commingled  with  the  throng, 

In  the  wide  world's  ceaseless  strife  ; 
Have  listened  to  the  endless  song 

That  marks  the  onward  course  of  life  ; 
Have  heard  the  earnest  words  they  spoke, 

And  conned  their  hidden  object  o'er, 
Till  on  my  mind  the  light  has  broke, 
'  This  it  is,  and  nothing  more.'  " 

"  No  man  caring  for  his  brother, 

Struggling  after  this  world's  pelf, 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  155 

Each  one  trampling  down  the  other, 
Each  one  striving  for  himself. 

"  Ay,  I  have  stood  within  the  hall 

Where  beauty's  triumphs  are  achieved, 
Saw  but  two  parties  midst  them  all, 

And  both  deceiving  and  deceived  ; 
Have  heard  of  Love's  thrice-woven  bond, 

And  vows  repeated  o'er  and  o'er  ; 
But,  searching  for  the  light  beyond, 
'  This  it  is,  and  nothing  more  : ' 
Each  betraying  one  another, 

In  the  object  they  pursue  ; 
Each  one  caring  for  the  other 

As  it  pleased  them  so  to  do. 

"  And  if  I  sometimes  stood  apart 

From  the  thronging  multitude, 
And  felt  how  welcome  to  my  heart 

Were  a  lonely  solitude  ; 
Asked  my  soul  why  this  suggestion, 

And  eager  conned  it  o'er  and  o'er, 
Found  but  one  answer  to  my  question, 
'  This  it  is,  and  nothing  more  : ' 
Each  is  some  one  else  deceiving, 

In  the  world's  tumultuous  strife, 
Those  the  greatest  share  achieving 

Who  make  deceit  the  aim  of  life  ; 
Each  betraying  one  another, 

Be  the  object  love  or  pelf ; 
No  one  caring  for  the  other, 

Each  one  striving  for  himself." 

There  were  some  pure,  true,  honest,  and  warm  hearts  in  the 
valley  of  Ceresco,  who  ever  shielded  and  sustained  the  sensitive 
spirit  of  the  Lone  One ;  and  there  were  also  other  "  vile,  unhal- 
lowed ones,"  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  sort  them  by  any  rule, 
either  by  actions  or  mode  of  living,  or  by  phrenological  laws ; 
for  all  these  agreed,  and  told  very  much  the  same  story.  But  a 
dark  cloud  was  hanging  over  the  place  in  '52  and  '53,  with 


156  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

drenching  rain  and  beating  hail;  and  the  Lone  One  had  already 
begun  to  seek  other  shelter,  but  had  not  found  it,  for  the  tender 
family  still  under  his  care.  His  government  over  his  children 
had  entirely  changed ;  for  now  his  authority  was  given  only  in 
love,  and  the  often  harsh  and  sometimes  severe  authority  which 
the  eldest  had  felt  was  now  mild  and  pleasant,  though  strong 
and  firm ;  and  the  elder  boy,  whose  mind  was  now  unfolded  to 
an  appreciation  of  these  things,  saw,  and  felt,  and  wondered  at 
the  change,  but  knew  not  the  cause,  yet  knew  well  the  effect. 
This  eldest  son  was  born  September  1,  1837,  and  the  youngest 
and  last  child  God  sent  to  the  family  on  the  second  of  February, 
1848.  Some  old  lady  asked,  one  day,  how  they  knew  this  was 
the  last  God  would  send ;  and  they  informed  her  that  he  left  a 
note  to  that  effect  in  the  basket  with  the  babe,  when  he  brought 
it.  Eleven  years  of  such  experience  as  this  couple  had,  with  five 
babies  mixed  in  with  poverty,  disease,  and  misery,  and  the  death 
of  two  of  them,  is  plenty  of  that  kind  of  experience,  especially 
when  a  reform  in  the  father  would  require  him  to  cooperate  with 
the  mother  in  trying  to  eradicate  the  effects  of  the  tobacco,  coffee, 
and  pork,  from  the  nervous  children,  who  must  have  inherited  it, 
as  all  children  do,  more  or  less,  in  such  cases,  causing  in  them 
restless,  irritable,  and  nervous  dispositions  and  habits.  Well  he 
knew  he  had  a  work  to  do,  and  faithfully  began  the  work  of  reno- 
vation in  the  children,  both  physical  and  mental  regeneration 
and  reformation. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  while  these  events  were  passing 
in  the  last  half  of  this  decade,  that  the  political  line  was  running 
its  race,  and  the  important  business  of  the  Phalanx  was  also  on 
his  mind,  and  the  Union  Store,  and  his  private  affairs  of  business; 
and  yet,  as  the  diary  showeth,  the  social  and  affectional  develop- 
ment at  this  time,  for  himself  and  family,  was  the  most  important, 
and  pressed  most  heavily  on  his  mind  and  heart,  and  in  the  end 
brought  the  most  reward  ;  indeed,  more  than  all  other,  except  the 
line  we  have  not  yet  taken  up.  In  '50  the  Lone  One  came  very 
near  forming  a  copartnership  with  his  old  friend,  the  senator,  and 


LIFE-LINE  OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  157 

starting,  or  purchasing,  a  paper  at  the  county  seat,  and  going, 
then  and  there,  into  new  business.  The  friend  had  long  been  an 
editor,  and  was  a  printer  by  profession  j  and  the  Lone  One  was 
now  quite  an  extensive  writer,  and  for  several  varieties  of  papers, 
and  found  his  letters  read  with  much  interest,  as  they  ever  have 
been  since.  He  felt  much  the  need  of  a  classical  education.  It 
was  well  for  him  that  the  scheme  failed  in  its  incipiency,  for  a  far 
more  important  mission  awaited  his  development  for  its  reception 
and  demands. 

The  diary  of  the  year  1850  showeth  that  the  Lone  One  was 
President  of  the  Annual  Session  of  the  National  Industrial  Con- 
gress, holden  for  that  year  at  Chicago,  in  June ;  and  that  he  made 
speeches  there,  and  elsewhere,  in  which  he,  as  he  ever  had, 
defended  the  rights  of  females  to  all  and  equal  privileges  with  males. 
All  these  were  only  signs,  to  the  conservative  and  lustful  minds, 
of  his  licentiousness.  But  the  greatest  of  all  opposition  came  from 
his  old  and  never-forgiving  religious  enemies,  who  were  deter- 
mined, at  whatever  cost  of  falsehood  or  slander,  to  destroy  his 
influence,  and  they  labored  unceasingly  to  accomplish  it ;  but  in 
vain,  as  the  sequel  shows. 

Sunday,  June  14,  1850,  the  journa^  notices  a  lecture  of  his  on 
woman's  rights,  before  the  Excelsior  Church,  in  Southport ;  and 
others,  on  this  and  kindred  subjects,  in  other  places,  all  showing 
an  affectional  tendency  and  development.  The  mental  capacity 
had  now  become  so  strong  that  it  needed  constant  employment ; 
and  subjects  were  handled  by  him  with  skill  and  power,  both  by 
speech  and  pen.  His  manhood  was  fast  unfolding  itself.  West- 
ward from  the  valley  home,  about  one  mile,  was  a  high  and  perpen- 
dicular limestone  cliff,  overlooking  a  large  meadow,  the  lake,  and 
much  country  below  and  beyond.  On  this  cliff  many  Sabbaths, 
and  some  other  days,  were  spent  by  the  Lone  One.  It  was  often, 
and  for  years,  the  retreat  and  resort  for  reading  and  writing  ;  and 
many  a  pencil-note  was  made  on  that  beautiful  and  romantic 
retreat.  It  was  not  only  the  favorite  retreat  of  the  Lone  One, 
but  of  many  others.  Skirted  by  a  few  shade-trees,  which  served 
14 


158  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

as  a  border  to  the  prairie  on  one  side,  and  towering  above  the 
tops  of  the  trees  on  the  other.  Several  times  the  Lone  One  has 
spent  the  stormy  hours  under  the  cliff,  in  spiritual  development, 
or  deep  meditation ;  and  many  a  sunny  hour  on  the  top,  under 
shade  of  oak  or  linden.  He  courted  solitude  (but  never  married 
her),  when  business  would  admit,  and  found  her  balmy  shadow 
and  cooling  shade  refreshing  to  his  soul. 

"  Enthusiast !  dreamer  !  such  the  names 

Thine  age  bestows  on  thee, 
For  that  great  nature,  going  forth 

In  world-wide  sympathy : 
For  the  vision  clear,  the  spirit  brave, 

The  honest  heart  and  warm, 
And  the  voice  which  swells  the  battle-cry 

For  freedom  and  reform. 

"  Yet  for  thy  fearless  manliness, 

When  weak  time-servers  throng,  — 
Thy  chivalrous  defence  of  right, 

Thy  bold  rebuke  of  wrong,  — 
And  for  the  flame  of  liberty, 

Heaven-kindled  in  thy  breast, 
Which  thou  hast  fed  like  sacred  fire,  — 

A  blessing  on  thee  rest ! 

"  Tis  said  thy  spirit  knoweth  not 

Its  times  of  calm  and  sleeping; 
That  ever  are  its  restless  thoughts 

Like  wild  waves  onward  leaping. 
Then  may  its  flashing  waters 

Be  tranquil  nevermore,  — 
They  are  troubled  by  an  angel, 

Like  the  sacred  pool  of  yore." 

The  subject  of  marriage  he  talked,  wrote,  and  lectured  upon, 
boldly  and  fearlessly  speaking  his  mind  on  the  subject,  as  if  it  was 
not  too  sacred  for  criticism.  But  this  alarmed  several  classes  of 
persons.  First,  and  most,  those  who  had  victims  of  tyranny  and 
lust,  to  whom  they  dared  not  have  any  rights  or  liberties  extended; 


LIFE-LINE   OP  THE  LONE   ONE.  159 

because  they  could  not  make  the  victims  of  their  cruelty  love  them ; 
and  if  they  lost  legal  control  over  their  persons,  they  would  rebel 
against  the  constant  child-bearing  and  never-ceasing  abuse  of  their 
bodies  and  souls.  The  second,  and  perhaps  still  more  alarmed, 
but  not  as  rabid,  opponents  to  any  reform  in  this  department, 
were  the  religious  bigots.  But  the  Lone  One  contended  that 
marriage  should  either  be  a  civil  contract  or  a  religious  rite,  and 
in  either  case  come  under  the  general  law  of  the  department  to 
which  it  belonged,  and  in  no  case  give  exclusive,  or  special,  or 
superior  rights  to  one  party.  That,  if  the  husband  owned  the 
estate  at  the  death  of  a  wife,  the  wife  should  own  it  at  the  death 
of  a  husband.  That,  if  the  property  of  a  wife  was  carried  to  a 
husband  by  the  marriage,  the  husband's  should  follow  the  same 
law,  and  they  should  be  joint  and  equal  owners  of  all  property  and 
children  while  married,  and  both  equitably  divided  at  parting; 
and  that,  if  either  had  superior  right  to  children,  it  should  be  the 
wife  and  mother.  That  all  contracts  of  this  nature,  entered  into 
by  mutual  consent  and  agreement,  should  be  subject  to  the  power 
that  created  them ;  and  of  course  they  should  have  power  to  dis- 
solve the  contract,  in  the  same  manner  they  formed  it,  mutually, 
and  by  public  record.  Of  course,  these  radical  sentiments,  the 
right  of  men  and  women  to  separate  what  God  had  joined  in  wed- 
lock, and  what  he  could  only  separate  by  death,  alarmed  the 
classes  above  named ;  and  the  anathemas  of  the  religious,  and  the 
vulgar  ribald  trash  of  the  pettifogger,  and  his  rowdy  legion,  both 
fell,  thick  and  fast,  on  the  Lone  One.  He  was  branded,  and  stig- 
matized, and  identified  with  every  person,  writer,  or  speaker,  of 
offensive  and  obscene  words  or  books;  and  heralded  from  "  Dan  to 
Beersheba  "  as  an  enemy  to  marriage,  and  all  sacred  institutions, 
by  those  whose  hearts,  if  not  homes,  were  full  of  "  yellow-covered 
literature."  But  the  Lone  One  knew  the  cost  of  defending  such 
reforms,  and  took  the  job  at  the  price,  conscious  of  justice  at  the 
end  of  life,  if  not  before.  Well  he  knew  there  would  be  a  day 
of  judgment,  and  that  God  and  pure  spirits  were  both  free,  and 
both  happy ;  so  he  should  find  himself  in  their  mansion  when  this 


160  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

life  was  over,  and  the  defenders  of  lust,  and  scorn,  and  envy,  and 
jealousy,  and  those  who  took  delight  in  them,  would  be  bound  in 
the  hells  of  their  own  creation,  with  the  effects  of  their  own  sins 
on  themselves,  for  "  their  works  do  follow  them/' 

"  There  are  flowers  that  ne'er  shall  wither, 

Blossoms  that  shall  ne'er  decay  : 
They  are  found  beyond  this  planet, 

In  the  realms  of  endless  day. 
If  you  fain  would  taste  these  flowers, 
Blooming  in  immortal  bowers  — 

Bear  the  Cross. 

"  There  are  hopes  that  never  crumble  — 

Lustrous  hopes  that  ne'er  shall  die  — 
Hopes  that  bud  upon  this  fair  earth, 

But  which  ripen  'yond  the  sky. 
If  these  hopes,  that  ne'er  shall  perish, 
You  desire  to  have  and  cherish  — 

Bear  the  Cross. 

"  There  are  friends  who  live  forever  — 

Friends  whom  Death  hath  sent  before 
Through  the  dark  and  silent  valley, 

To  a  far  sublimer  shore. 
Would  ye  have  these  friends  forever 
By  your  side,  and  leave  them  never  — 
Bear  the  Cross. 

"  There  are  never-dying  pleasures  — 

Pleasures  sweet  and  holier  far 
Than  the  bodiless  enjoyments 
Which  around  about  us  are. 
Do  you  wish  to  find  these  pleasures, 
These  celestial,  priceless  treasures  — 
Bear  the  Cross. 

"  There  are  bright  and  fadeless  beauties, 

Constellated  by  God's  hand, 
Where  the  gentle  waves  of  music 
Flood  with  melody  a  land. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  161 

If  you  faiu  would  see  these  beauties, 
Never  trifle  with  life's  duties  — 

Bear  the  Cross. 

"  There  are  never-clouded  glories  — 

Glories  robed  in  holy  awe  ; 
There  are  splendors  that  are  grander 
Than  this  world  of  ours  e'er  saw. 
Would  you,  when  your  life-ties  sever 
Gaze  upon  these  glories  ever  — 

Bear  the  Cross. 

"  There  's  a  life  which  ne'er  shall  slumber  — 

There  are  blisses  blent  with  love  ; 
And,  if  you  be  ever  faithful, 

You  '11  experience  them  above, 
Where,  when  cometh  Death's  to-morrow, 
You  shall,  purged  of  every  sorrow, 

Wear  a  Crown." 

But  there  dawned  to  his  heart  a  millennial  day  earlier,  but  not 
more  surely,  than  to  his  mate.  Several  years  after  his  emancipa- 
tion, she,  too,  was  free  from  "  custom's  heartless  forms,"  and  from 
the  scorn-storm  of  jealousy,  prejudice,  and  envy,  and  they  met  and 
lived  on  that  plane  of  mutual  love,  mutual  confidence,  mutual 
purity,  and  mutual  interest.  Then,  and  only  then,  did  life  become 
worth  the  cost.  Through  all  the  previous  years,  they  had  been 
tenants,  living  in  leased  hearts,  which  were  often  full  of  vice  and 
evil,  from  the  hell  of  theology,  or  the  sleet-showers  of  scorn,  or  the 
dazzling  bewilderment  of  popularity  and  pride.  But  now  the  home 
was  in  their  own  affections,  and  they  met  congenial  and  equally 
developed  souls ;  and  with  such  the  seasons  of  enjoyment  were  of 
the  holiest,  and  purest,  and  most  heavenly  of  earth. 

But  this  was  a  fearful  condition  to  attain  ;  for  whosoever  has  a 
soul  developed  to  that  condition  that  he  or  she  is  lovable,  and 
beloved  by  the  pure  and  good  of  earth  and  heaven,  is  sure  to  be 
ranked  as  a  fiend  of  hell,  and  holy  writ  and  doggery-slang  will 
both  be  quoted  to  prove  it.  Whoever  attains  to  a  condition  even 
approaching  the  love  of  Je.sus,  so  far  as  to  draw  and  attract  others 
U* 


162  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

who  need  to  be  saved  from  lust  and  pollution,  from  slavery  and 
tyranny,  from  degradation  and  defilement,  is  sure  to  have  his  or  her 
reputation  crucified  in  the  market-places  daily,  and  to  be  scourged 
with  the  basest  tongues  of  slander  that  a  self-styled  Christian  land 
can  furnish.  When  his  affections  were  expanded,  and  his  soul 
developed  to  the  sphere  of  harmony,  and  the  angels  came  to  min- 
ister to  him,  and  those  of  earth  nearest  in  condition  to  the  angels 
were  drawn  to  him,  and  became  his  friends  and  confidants  —  then 
was  the  time  when  every  effort  was  put  forth  by  the  wicked  to 
induce  her  who  had  struggled  with  him  through  the  dark  trials  of 
physical  suffering  to  desert  him.  Every  effort  of  the  pious,  and 
polluted,  neighbors  combined  to  persuade  her  that  he  had  abandoned 
her  and  was  full  of  lust,  as  they  really  were  themselves  ;  but  they 
did  not  persuade,  and  their  oft-renewed  and  extraordinary  efforts 
tended,  more  than  any  one  cause,  to  open  her  eyes.  Slowly,  but 
gradually,  they  opened,  and  she  saw  first  the  condition  and  objects  of 
those  around  her ;  then  her  own  condition;  and  then  the  light  shone 
plainly  on  his  —  and,  0  !  what  an  earthly  morning !  equalled  only 
by  the  glory  of  an  entrance  into  the  other  sphere !  Love  supreme, 
heavenly,  pure,  such  as  her  heart  had  never  known  before,  filled 
her  whole  being,  till,  like  a  ruby  cup,  it  overflowed,  and  filled  her 
soul  with  joy  and  gladness  immeasurable,  unspeakable,  and  the 
boundless  ocean  has  been  flowing  through  her  being  ever  since 
But  what  now?  Why,  she  drew  around  her,  like  the  magnet,  the 
objects  attracted  by  her  pure  heart,  and  the  pure  loved  her  every- 
where, as  they  did  the  Lone  One ;  and  the  vile  cast  her  off, 
spewed  her  out  as  the  whale  did  Jonah,  as  related  in  the  fable  ; 
but,  like  him,  she  landed  safely  on  dry  land,  and  the  angels  of  both 
spheres  came  and  ministered  to  her  wants.  She  —  they  —  found 
the  good  -Samaritans ;  and  when  the  slanders  were  coming  hottest 
and  heaviest,  there  was  not  a  family  in  the  state,  of  which  one  or 
all  were  members  of  a  church,  that  was  as  happy,  as  harmonious, 
aa  affectionate,  as  devoted,  as  the  family  of  the  Lone  One ;  nor  is 
there  "to  this  day,"  and  when  any  Christian  will  present  such  a 
family  we  will  engage  to  seek  religion  in  that  direction.  Her  over- 


LLFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  163 

flowing  soul  drinks  now  from  a  source  of  joy  and  love,  which  affords 
her  more  happiness  in  one  day  than  all  the  world  ever  afforded  her 
before  in  years ;  and  the  two,  with  the  three  beloved  and  loving 
children,  make  a  five-stranded  chord  to  lash  the  liars  round  the 
world,  and  would  do  it  effectually  did  they  not  take  shelter  in 
the  churches,  where  lying  for  the  glory  of  the  church  is  a  pro- 
tected virtue.  He  is  no  more  a  Lone  One ;  for  his  own  home  is  the 
happy  home,  and  his  family  a  unit  (and  it  was  never  less  so  than 
most  other  families,  especially  Christian  families),  and  he  is  loved 
and  beloved,  as  a  brother,  by  thousands  in  both  worlds,  because 
his  own  love-nature  is  ripened  and  developed  to  its  manhood,  and 
has  been  touched  by  a  coal  from  the  living  fire  of  the  altar  of  God, 
which  is  the  throne  of  Love, 

"  Ah  !  shouldst  thou  live  but  once  Love's  sweets  to  prove, 
Thou  wilt  not  love  to  live,  unless  thou  live  to  love  !  " 

SECTION    IV. 

THE  CHANGE  OJT  BELIEF. SPIRITUALISM.  —  MEDIUMSHIP. TURNED 

PREACHER. 

"  Imbued  with  the  seraphic  fire, 
To  wake  the  music  of  the  lyre  — 
To  love,  to  know,  and  to  aspire  :  — 

"  Thou  seest,  in  thy  truthful  dream, 
All  nature  robed  in  light  supreme, 
And  wouldst  carol  in  the  beam. 

"  Happy  —  yet  most  unhappy  still  — 
I  dread  to  think  what  good  and  ill. 
What  joy  and  grief,  thy  heart  shall  fill ! 

"  Think,  ere  thou  choose  such  high  career, 
If  thou  hast  strength  to  persevere, 
And  scale  the  summit,  cold  and  clear. 

"  Great  shall  thy  pleasure  be,  —  thy  soul 
Shall  chant  with  planets  as  they  roll, 
Made  one  with  nature,  part  and  whole. 


164  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

"  All  shall  be  given  to  feed  thy  mind 
"With  love  and  pity  for  thy  kind, 
And  every  sympathy  refined. 

"  Thy  words  shall  fill  the  mouths  of  men  ; 
The  written  lightnings  of  thy  pen 
Shall  flash  upon  their  wandering  ken. 

"  Reflect  and  weigh  the  loss  and  gain  ; 
All  joy  is  counterpoised  by  pain, 
And  nothing  charms  which  we  attain. 

"  Who  loves  the  music  of  the  spheres, 
And  lives  on  earth,  must  close  his  ears 
To  many  voices  which  he  hears. 

"  'Tis  evermore  the  finest  sense 
That  feels  the  anguish  most  intense 
At  daily  outrage,  gross  and  dense. 

"  The  greater  joy,  the  keener  grief; 
Of  nature's  balances  the  chief 
She  grants  nor  favor,  nor  relief. 

"  And  vain,  most  vain,  is  youthful  trust, 
For  men  are  evermore  unjust 
To  their  superior  fellow-dust ; 

"  And  ever  turn  malicious  eyes 
On  those  whom  most  they  idolize, 
And  break  their  hearts  with  calumnies. 

"  Their  slanders,  like  the  tempest-stroke, 
May  leave  the  cowslip-stem  unbroke, 
But  rend  the  branches  of  the  oak. 

"  If  genius  live,  'tis  made  a  slave  ; 
And  if  it  die,  the  true  and  brave, 
Men  pluck  its  heart  out  on  its  grave  ; 

"  And  then  dissect  it  for  the  throng, 

And  say,  'Twas  this,  so  weak,  or  strong, 
That  poured  such  living  strains  of  song. 

"  Each  fault  of  genius  is  a  crime, 
For  cant  or  folly  to  beslime, 
Sent  drifting  on  the  stream  of  time 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  165 

"  May  all  good  angels  keep  thy  heart 
Pure  to  itself,  and  to  thine  art, 
And  shield  it  from  the  poison  dart !  — 

"  And  when  thou  sittest  on  the  height, 
Thy  life  may  be  its  own  delight, 
And  cheer  thee,  in  the  world's  despite  '  " 

As  has  been  before  mentioned,  the  Lone  One  began  in  the  winter 
of  '43  and  '44  to  experimentally  investigate  the  subject  of  Mesmer- 
ism. With  a  steady,  but  sure,  march  he  progressed,  as  opportunity 
offered,  for  several  years,  to  both  study  and  experiment  with  this 
science,  until  the  doubts  which  hung  over  the  phenomenon  of 
death  and  the  existence  beyond  were  all  clearly  and  fully  settled. 
The  first  point  of  importance,  fully  and  positively  established  both 
by  experiment  and  testimony,  was  the  existence  of  a  faculty  of 
seeing  without  the  use  of  bodily  eyes,  and  unobstructed  by  distance 
or  intervening  objects.  The  origin  and  seat  of  this  faculty  was  a 
subject  of  much  speculation  to  one  who  did  not  admit  the  exist- 
ence of  a  spiritual  body,  with  faculties  of  its  own,  and  powers  of 
seeing  independent  of  the  bodily  organs ;  and  finally  compelled,  with 
other  evidences,  the  admission  of  an  existence  independent  of 
physical  or  corporeal  senses.  But  the  utterly  absurd  idea  of  an 
immaterial  existence,  or  of  a  being  without  form  and  locality,  was 
never  for  a  moment  tolerated,  however  much  dogmatical  theology 
might  assert  or  assume  on  the  subject.  When  this  point  was  fully 
gained,  and  the  seeing  faculty  of  clairvoyants  had  been  established, 
and  the  laws  which  regulate  it  were  sufficiently  understood  to  enable 
him  to  know  when  it  was  reliable,  then  opened  another  arcana  of 
"  divine  revelation."  This  sense,  without  the  body  as  a  medium 
(except  to  express  it  to  others),  and  the  others  which  were  found 
to  be  equally  acute  and  extended,  and  equally  certain  of  existence, 
declared  that  and  proved  they  could  reach  and  realize  the  presence 
and  existence  of  spirits  who  were  really  the  very  persons  who  once 
walked  and  talked  with  us,  but  whose  bodies  had  been  cast  off  for- 
ever, and  whose  conscious  existence  the  Lone  One  ever  had 
believed  to  end  with  death.  Theology  had  taught  him  that  this 


166  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

was  the  only  material  life,  and  that  all  beyond  was  immaterial ; 
and  he  had  therefore  replied,  It  is  immaterial  what  you  teach,  and 
immateriality  and  nothing  are  to  me  and  philosophy  synonymous 
terms. 

But  now,  with  new  evidence,  came  a  new  theory  also,  and  the 
spirits  themselves  declared  that  they  were  as  really  material  as 
they  were  when  they  had  earthly  bodies,  or  bodies  composed  of 
the  solids  and  liquids  of  earth,  but  that  their  present  bodies  were 
constituted  of  elemental  matter,  in  as  great  variety  as  those  of 
earth  were  ;  and  that  these  bodies,  invisible  and  intangible  to  our 
bodies,  because  composed  of  such  substances  as  were  too  rare  for 
our  sense,  were  to  them  as  capable  of  expression  for  all  emotional 
and  passional  life,  and  conscious  existence,  as  those  they  had 
left.  But  here,  again,  came  in  the  absurdities  of  theology,  and  they 
asked,  What  and  where  is  God,  Jesus,  Heaven,  the  Judgment, 
Hell,  and  the  King-Devil,  &c.  ?  —  and  the  reply  came  back  from 
these  spirits,  as  it  came  back  from  mortals  on  the  earth,  We  know 
nothing  of  these  things,  but  we  believe,  &c. ;  making  as  great  a 
variety  of  opinion  in  that  condition  of  life  as  in  this,  and  just  as 
little  knowledge.  Now  the  glorious  truth  of  the  other  life  began 
to  gleam  upon  the  mind  of  the  Lone  One ;  first  in  the  fitful  glare 
of  lightning's  flash,  or  gentler  lume  of  boreal  light,  until,  at  last, 
through  all  the  faculties  of  his  being  the  full  glory  of  a  real 
and  natural  spiritual  sphere  shone  as  brilliantly  as  a  meridian 
sun  through  unclouded  sky,  and  quickened  all  his  powers  into 
action,  as  the  April  sun  does  the  sleeping  vegetation.  Here  you 
read  also  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  reformation  in  his 
diet  and  regimen,  in  life  and  affections,  as  related  in  preceding 
sections.  The  long-dormant  energies  of  the  soul,  that  felt  this 
life  a  failure,  and  saw  none  beyond,  —  that  felt  mortality  to  be  a 
"  wheel  of  pain,  at  best," — now  had  opened  the  volume  of  another 
life,  or  a  continuation  of  this,  where  those  who  labor  here  shall 
see  and  feel  their  just  reward.  Now  his  energies  were  ready  for 
action.  First,  the  Phalanx  was  the  result  of  this  awakened  energy. 
Then  political  efforts  at  reform,  emancipation,  and  universal  free- 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  167 

dom  and  happiness ;  then  commercial  release  of  the  masses  from 
the  bondage  and  slavery  to  monopolies.  Then  social  and  aflectional 
freedom,  and  development  to  universal  love  and  harmony.  Then, 
and  finally,  spiritual  freedom,  growth,  development,  and  illumina- 
tion. The  preacher,  the  reformer.  In  the  winter  of  '45-6,  the 
experiments  of  a  company  of  investigators,  in  Cincinnati,  with 
one  or  more  clairvoyants,  were  closely  followed  by  the  Lone  One 
and  several  others  at  the  Phalanx-home,  and  they  were  also 
deeply  interested  in  all  they  could  learn  of  the  wonderful  powers 
of  A.  J.  Davis,  in  New  York  and  elsewhere.  They  learned,  by 
occasional  newspaper  reports,  of  his  delivering  a  series  of  lectures 
in  a  clairvoyant  state,  which  were  said  to  be  rare  and  very  remark- 
able productions,  but  not  fraught  with  marvellous  stories,  for  such 
to  the  Lone  One  would  have  ended  all  interest  in  them.  But 
these  were  said  to  be  natural,  or  nature's  revelations ;  and  hence 
he  became  intensely  interested  in  them,  and  with  much  impatience 
watched  every  week  for  a  notice  of  -the  book,  and  no  sooner 
received  news  of  its  publication  than  one  dozen  copies  were 
ordered  by  express  to  Milwaukie,  the  end  of  the  express  line,  by 
the  secretary  of  the  Phalanx,  and  most  of  them  were  read  and 
re-read,  lent  and  borrowed,  sold  and  re-sold,  until  many  minds  were 
fed  by  these  new  truths,  who  could  get  no  food  from  what  Christians 
call  God's  revelations.  The  Lone  One  had  now  a  firmer  and  more 
substantial  basis  for  his  lectures  and  strictures  than  ever  before, 
and  he  boldly  took  up  the  defence  of  this  book,  —  of  its  philosophy, 
in  the  main,  and  the  truly  divine  manner  of  its  revelations,  —  and 
with  his  senator-friend,  who  was  also  up  to  the  time  in  the  philos- 
ophy. He  ever  had  one  or  more  copies  with  him  at  the  capitol,  to 
call  out  remarks  and  ridicule,  and  give  him  a  chance  to  defend  it, 
and  compare  it  with  Moses'  revelation,  &c.  Although  there  were 
some  theories  and  principles  in  this  volume  that  he  did  not  accept, 
and  never  has,  yet  the  candor  of  the  author,  or  authors,  and  the 
honest,  unassuming  style  of  the  seer,  gave  the  whole  an  irresist- 
ible recommendation  to  the  mind  of  the  Lone  One.  The  vast 
amount  of  truth,  with  the  natural,  and  rational,  general  systems  of 


168  LIFE-LINE   OP  THE   LONE   ONE. 

creation,  of  lite,  and  of  progression,  and  of  harmony,  was  to  hia 
soul  like  a  shower  of  rain  to  a  parched  and  thirsting  soil.  He 
drank,  and  was  filled.  He  spoke,  and  was  heard.  He  recom- 
mended, and  some  read.  But  the  author,  A.  J.  D.,  became  an 
object  of  great  interest  to  the  Lone  One,  and  ever  after  he  was 
among  the  first  to  read  whatever  bore  his  name,  and  to  watch 
with  intense  interest  every  change  in  his  eventful  life.  Some 
years  after,  he  became  a  personal  and  intimate  friend  and  cola- 
borer  in  the  field,  scattering  seed  for  the  harvest-time.  Sowing  in 
corruption,  to  reap  in  incorruption.  Sowing  in  the  body,  to  reap 
in  the  spirit.  Sowing  in  mortality,  to  reap  in  immortality.  From 
'46  to  '53  the  Lone  One  was  only  occasionally  heard,  by  lecture 
or  by  newspaper  article,  to  defend  the  existence  of  spirits  in  our 
midst,  with  capacities  to  reach  us  with  intelligence  occasionally, 
as  conditions  would  admit.  His  own  mind  being  fully  satisfied,  he 
sometimes  spoke  or  wrote.  Chosen  by  a  society  of  spirit-teachers, 
they  had  him  under  discipline  and  influence  unbeknown  to  himself, 
of  which  the  change  of  diet  was  a  part,  and  the  true  development 
of  the  affections  and  loves  was  an  essential  qualification ;  and 
some  years  after  their  work  on  him  had  commenced,  they  related 
to  him  all  they  had  been  doing,  and  its  objects,  and  then  he  dis- 
covered the  cause  of  his  abandoning  every  field  of  labor  where 
worldly  honor  and  distinction  was  before  him,  and  success  almost 
certain,  and  the  reason  why  he  had  let  every  opportunity  to 
acquire  wealth  escape  him,  even  when  he  knew  it  was  within  his 
reach  by  honorable  means.  Now  he  saw  why  he  must  be  poor 
and  full  of  human  love ;  for  such  must  preach  the  true  gospel  of  our 
age,  as  such  did  in  the  days  of  Jesus.  It  was  necessary  that  Jesus 
should  have  nowhere  to  lay  his  head ;  and  so  it  was  of  his  disci- 
ples who  went  out  to  preach ;  and  nearly  so  must  it  be  with  those 
who  will,  in  our  day,  reach  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  kindle 
in  them  the  living  fire  of  love  to  Grod,  by  its  expression  to  our 
Bellow-beings.  The  pen-tracks  of  the  Lone  One  can  be  found  con- 
veying his  sentiments  in  the  Boston  Investigator,  the  Phalanx, 
the  Harbinger,  the  Univerccelum,  the  Spirit  of  the  Age,  the 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  169 

Young  America,  the  Landmark,  the  Spirit  Messenger,  to  the 
Spiritual  Telegraph,  and  for  some  distance  into  its  pages,  and 
later  in  both  eastern  and  western  papers,  with  many  local  articles 
in  local  papers  of  the  state  in  which  he  resided  at  the  time.  The 
Patent  Office  published  from  his  pen,  and  the  Crystal  Palace, 
with  its  world's  show-cases,  registered  him  as  one  of  the  com- 
missioners from  a  far-west  state ;  but  still,  in  all  this,  he  was  the 
Lone  One,  and  the  same  orphaned  and  despised  being,  who  fled 
from  tyranny,  and  slept  on  the  ground  made  warm  by  the  bodies 
of  cattle,  with  a  guardian  spirit-mother  only  for  a  friend  and 
companion  —  she  with  little  power,  and  much  desire,  to  aid  him. 
But  now  he  had  felt  the  touch  of  angel-hands  upon  his  inner  and 
outer  being,  and  could  read  the  past  and  present,  and  catch  gleams 
of  the  future ;  and  to  his  mother  he  would  truly  say  : 

"  I  know  thy  form  is  ever  hovering 

In  this  gloom  around  me  spread  ; 
And  I  feel  thy  holy  influence 

In  the  daily  path  I  tread. 
Thine  's  the  step  so  soft  and  mournful 

Coming  on  each  golden  beam  ; 
Thine  'a  the  hand  that  gently  pencils 

Holy  visions  in  my  dream. 
"  Oft  in  low  and  soothing  whispers, 

When  my  soul  with  grief  is  riven, 
Thou  hast  brought  me  golden  beauties 

Of  thy  far-off  home  in  heaven. 
This  that  stills  the  throbbing,  burning 

Of  this  weary,  aching  heart, 
And  unseals  the  crystal  fountain 

Whence  the  soothing  tear-drops  start 
"  Through  the  vale  of  gloomy  shadows, 

Be  thou,  loved  one,  ever  nigh, 
And  in  thy  low  sweet  accents  tell  me 

Of  thy  home  in  yon  blue  sky  ! 
Pure,  bright  thoughts  like  dew-drops  bring  me, 

Shadowings  of  that  land  so  fair  ! 
That  I  may  come,  0  !  ask  our  Father 

Where  thou,  and  love,  and  angels  are  !  " 

15 


170  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

The  diary  of  the  Lone  One  for  the  year  1850  closes  by  saying 
that  during  the  year  he  had  made  many  experiments,  and  exam- 
ined carefully  and  critically  the  spirit-rapping  and  table-tipping 
phenomena,  and  become  satisfied  they  were  often  caused  by  spirits, 
but  very  imperfect  modes  of  conveyance  for  intelligence  from  the 
spirit-sphere  to  ours,  with  a  fair  prospect  to  become  better  and 
more  reliable.  The  diaries  of  '50,  '51,  '52,  also  record  lectures, 
at  different  places,  on  Phrenology,  Physiology,  Geology,  Temper- 
ance, Land  Reform,  and  other  subjects.  But  never  for  pay,  or  as  a 
business,  until  the  autumn  of  '52,  when  most  other  business  was  dis- 
pensed with,  and  the  dispensation  of  the  new  gospel  absorbed  his 
time,  and  he  entered  the  field  as  a  lecturer,  mainly  on  spirit  life 
and  intercourse,  and  the  philosophy  of  that  life  and  our  intercourse 
with  it. 

The  life  and  business  at  this  time,  at  home,  was  very  much 
broken  and  distracted,  for  many  reasons,  most  of  which  can  be 
collected  in  this  narrative.  And  now  the  ties  to  both  home  and 
business  could,  perhaps,  for  the  first  time  in  life,  allow  the  Lone 
One  to  start  on  a  pilgrimage  to  defend  the  most  odious  and  un- 
popular doctrine  of  the  day,  and  to  meet  and  bear  the  abuse  and 
scorn  of  the  pulpit,  the  press,  the  bar-room,  and  the  rabble,  with 
all  their  bloated,  or  bombastic,  or  swaggering  advocates.  Ev- 
ery species  of  crime,  including  religious  tyranny,  was  out  on  this 
new  doctrine ;  and  they  did  succeed  in  driving  many  timid  hearts 
back  to  the  shelter  of  public  opinion,  which  could  and  did  cover 
the  most  corrupt  as  well  as  many  good  and  true  hearts.  But  the 
Lone  One  owed  nothing  to  public  opinion.  It  had  abused  him. 
in  childhood  as  badly  as  it  could,  and  tad  never  ceased  its  abuse 
of  him,  although  he  had  fully  and  plainly  proved  that  he  could 
control  it,  if  he  desired,  and  have  its  adulation  and  applause,  if 
he  would  but  fall  down  and  worship.  Nothing  else  was  required 
of  him ;  yet  his  soul  could  never  "  stoop  to  conquer,"  nor  would  it 
ever  bow  down  to  the  image  which  any  tyrant  could  set  up. 
Boldly,  fearlessly,  he  took  his  staff  and  travelled  on,  lecturing  and 
to  lecture,  picking  up  here  and  there  a  few  dimes,  about  equal  to 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  171 

his  expenses  in  amount,  as  the  voluntary  contributions  of  hearers 
or  friends.  Never  disheartened  or  discouraged,  for  he  had  a  sure 
promise  of  reward  in  the  life  to  come  for  all  the  good  he  could  do 
in  the  life  already  come.  The  philosophy  of  materiality  and  im- 
mortality, which  he  taught,  rendered  him  and  his  doctrines  very 
obnoxious  to  the  orthodox  defenders  of  the  faith ;  and  they  usually 
opposed  his  meetings,  and  used  every  effort  to  prevent  the  people 
from  listening  to  the  words  of  this  infidel  preacher.  The  "  houses 
of  God  "  were  almost  as  effectually  shut  against  him  as  they  were 
against  Jesus  and  John  when  they  went  out  to  preach.  I  am 
aware  that  some  persons,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  idolizing 
Jesus,  will  be  shocked  at  our  comparisons;  but  we  are  unable  to  see 
any  impropriety  in  it ;  for  there  were  some  marke'd  correspondences 
between  the  two,  especially  in  the  heresies  and  blasphemies  they 
both  taught,  and  in  the  reception  of  their  teachings  by  the  people 
and  the  priests,  and  also  in  the  genealogy,  both  being  rather  im- 
perfect beyond  the  mother ;  and,  were  we  disposed  to  record  the 
feats  of  healing,  we  might  make  a  feeble  correspondence  there 
also.  But  these  are  of  no  account  to  us  or  to  the  Lone  One,  and 
only  inserted  to  moderate  the  superstition,  rather  than  to  connect 
the  Lone  One  by  comparison  to  any  distinguished  personage  of 
past  or  present  time.  The  voices  of  his  guardians  were  ever  urg- 
ing him  on  in  his  mission. 

"  Be  firm,  be  bold,  be  strong,  be  true, 

And  dare  to  stand  alone  ; 
Strive  for  the  right,  whate'er  you  do, 
Though  helpers  there  are  none. 

"  Nay,  bend  not  to  the  swelling  surge 

Of  public  sneer  and  wrong  ; 
'T  will  bear  thee  on  to  ruin's  verge, 
With  current  wild  and  strong. 

"  Stand  for  the  right  !     Though  falsehood  rail. 

And  proud  lips  coldly  sneer, 

A  poisoned  arrow  cannot  wound 

A  conscience  pure  and  clear. 


172  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    OXE. 

"  Stand  for  the  right !  and  with  clean  hands 

Exalt  the  truth  on  high  ; 
Thou  'It  fiud  warm,  sympathizing  hearts 
Among  the  passers  by  ; 

"  Men  who  have  seen,  and  thought,  and  felt, 

Yet  could  not  boldly  dare 
The  battle's  brunt,  but  by  thy  side 
"Will  every  danger  share. 

"  Stand  for  the  right  !    Proclaim  it  loud  ! 

Thou  'It  find  an  answering  tone 
In  honest  hearts,  and  thou  'It  no  more 
Be  doomed  to  stand  alone." 

Along  the  pathway  of  this  development  might  be  noticed  mapy 
incidents  of  interest  to  the  searcher  after  evidences  of  spirit-life ; 
but  it  would  be  out  of  the  line  of  our  narrative  to  use  up  many 
pages  for  that  purpose.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
Lone  One  was  originally,  educationally,  and  reputationally,  the 
most  sceptical  of  all  sceptics.  Having  no  faith  in  immortality,  he 
was  not  seeking  for  proof  of  the  negative,  but  for  evidence  of  the 
positive  side  of  the  question.  He  had  become  fully  satisfied  that 
the  Christians  could  furnish  no  facts  and  no  evidence  for  a  reason- 
ing, metaphysical,  and  scientific  mind ;  that  their  authority-evi- 
dence was  not  admissible  as  evidence  at  all ;  that  their  theory  was 
only  theory,  and  a  belief  in  it  was  no  evidence  of  its  truth.  For 
well  he  knew  that  belief  and  doubt  were  twin-sisters,  and  never 
could  be  separated;  and  that  theory,  without  demonstration,  could 
never  claim  more  than  belief — never  knowledge.  The  very  theory 
of  another  life,  immaterial,  and,  of  course,  for  that  reason,  if  no 
other,  beyond  the  power  of  manifestation,  precluded  the  possibility 
of  demonstration.  He  had,  therefore,  long  since  given  up  all  hope 
of  evidence  from  that  source.  Nor  did  he  begin  the  search  in 
mesmerism  for  the  purpose  of  proving,  or  with  the  view  or  expect- 
ation to  prove,  the  existence  of  spirits.  He  rather  supposed  it 
would  more  effectually  confirm  his  unbelief.  Step  after  step,  he 
was  led  by  facts,  which  are  stubborn  obstacles  to  a  false  theory, 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  173 

and  strike  hard  as  Ajax's  rocks  in  an  enemy's  ranks.  He  had 
become  fully  satisfied  and  boldly  defended  the  other  life,  and  its 
intercourse  with  this  through  the  systems  which  were  suscepti- 
ble to  clairvoyant  condition,  before  the  alarm  was  sounded  in  the 
Christian  tents  at  Hydeville  and  Rochester,  by  the  raps  of  the 
then  pious  Fox  family.  He  was  not  surprised,  but  overjoyed,  when 
he  became  satisfied  that  the  spirit-friends  had  found  more  ways  of 
communicating  to  us  a  knowledge  of  their  existence  and  presence; 
and  he  was  not  much  surprised  to  find  the  churches  and  their 
preachers  on  the  negative  side,  and  opposing  every  form  of  dem- 
onstration that  could  prove  continued  existence;  for  he  had  long  ac- 
cused them  of  teaching  their  doctrines  as  a  trade,  and  for  a  business, 
aud  not  from  a  belief.  And  now  he  saw  they  were  about  to  prove 
it  so  by  opposing  the  only  real  and  reliable  evidence  we  can  have 
of  the  continued  existence  of  our  friends  after  the  body  is  cast  off. 
Neither  was  he  surprised  when  he  saw  the  course  they  took  after 
being  compelled  to  admit  the  occurrence  of  the  phenomena,  and 
the  intelligence  exhibited  in  them.  A  theory  which  teaches  that 
all  invisible  agencies  around  us  that  exhibit  intelligence  are  from 
one  of  two  sources,  God  or  Devil,  would,  of  course,  attribute  these 
to  one  or  the  other;  and  the  God  or  Devil  origin  of  each  intelligent 
communication  would,  of  course,  be  determined  by  its  agreement 
with  the  theory  of  the  judge  who  had  a  theory  or  doctrine  as  an 
infallible  standard  of  truth.  To  the  Catholic,  if  it  defended  Prot- 
estantism as  superior  to  his  church,  of  course  it  would  be  the 
Devil ;  to  the  Calvinist,  if  it  sustained  Unitarianism  as  superior 
to  his  creed,  of  course  it  would  be  the  Devil ;  to  the  Methodist, 
if  it  upheld  Uuiversalism  as  superior  to  his  doctrine,  of  course  it 
would  be  the  Devil ;  to  the  Universalist,  if  it  denied  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  Bible,  and  the  value  of  his  preaching,  it  could  not  be 
attributed  to  the  Devil,  for  this  church  is  beyond  the  Devil-the- 
ory, and  furnishes  the  singular  phenomenon  of  a  church  without  a 
Devil,  of  which  I  think  many  of  them  have  seen  the  need  in  these 
trying  times,  with  this  most  potent  heresy.  They  are  compelled 
to  attribute  it  to  electricity,  to  od-force,  to  deception,  to  anything 


174  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

but  spirits.  Not  that ;  for,  if  that  be  the  source  of  this  intelligence, 
then  we  shall  soon  have  a  new  set  of  preachers,  and  the  old  ones, 
who  we  supposed  were  above  and  out  of  our  way,  will  be  in  the 
field  again  competing  with  the  new.  But  to  the  infidel,  who  had 
no  Devil  or  God  playing  with  us  by  fallible  intelligence,  these 
phenomena  became  generally  highly  interesting,  and  brought  to 
thousands  of  such  minds  the  first  ray  of  light  from  the  hereafter, 
and  the  first  point  of  evidence  of  continued  existence. 

Soon  after  the  shout,  and  laugh,  and  ribald  jest,  of  witling  and 
clown,  had  gone  over  the  country  with  the  "Rochester  Knockings" 
for  a  bait,  the  Lone  One  and  a  few  eager  souls  formed  a  circle, 
and  met  weekly  or  oftener  for  more  than  six  months,  without  a 
rap  or  signal  of  any  kind  from  invisible  spirits  ;  and  the  Chris- 
tians said,  "  Fools  !  you  might  know  better ! "  But  they  retorted, 
"  Fools !  what  do  you  go  weekly  for  years  to  the  church  for,  and 
never  find  God,  nor  any  signs  that  there  is  a  God,  except  those 
the  infidel  has  in  common  with  you,  in  nature  ? "  After  six 
months  of  perseverance,  a  new  member  of  the  circle  was  added  as 
a  visitor,  casually,  in  the  person  of  a  young  lady,  a  member  of  a 
Presbyterian  church ;  when  the  raps  came  with  her,  and,  for  a  few 
weeks,  they  were  delighted  by  brief  and  imperfect  messages  from 
their  spirit-friends.  All  over  the  clothes,  and  even  on  the  hair  of 
the  Lone  One,  could  be  heard  the  tiny  raps  of  the  two  little,  over- 
joyed boys,  whose  bodies  he  had  left  in  sorrow  under  the  apple- 
tree;  and  soon,  in  stronger  magnetic  sound,  came  the  glad  beats 
of  his  mother,  eager  to  make  herself  known  by  the  new  mode  of 
communicating ;  for  she  had  already  done  it  by  clairvoyance. 

This  medium  was  soon  frightened  out  of  her  mediumship,  or  the 
use  of  it,  by  her  religious  superiors,  who  said  it  was  the  Devil, 
although  she  had  the  most  incontrovertible  evidence  that  her 
mother  communicated  to  her,  both  when  alone  and  in  circles.  But 
they  told  her  it  was  surely  the  Devil  pretending  to  be  her  mother, 
and  getting  the  facts  and  knowledge  from  her  mind,  &c.  "  Poor, 
ignorant  souls !  "  said  the  Lone  One ;  "  if  you  who  are  safely 
locked  in  the  church,  and  faithful  to  every  command  of  her  and 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  175 

God,  are  not  protected  and  safe  against  the  Devil  without  a  priest 
to  guide  you,  then  your  religion  is  worthless,  and  mine  is  better ; 
for  the  Devil  cannot,  and  does  not,  affect  or  disturb  me."  —  "  But 
you  are  his  child,"  they  replied.  — "  Then  I  must  serve  my  father. 
And  now  let  us  compare  lines.  Bring  out  some  son  of  a  priest, 
born  forty  years  ago;  run  his  Life-Line  along  by  the  side  of  mine  ; 
and  let  us  see  how  one  of  God's  sons  would  compare  with  one 
of  the  Devil's."  —  "  0,  horrible  blasphemy  !  I  do  wish  he  had 
left  this  abuse  of  the  churches  out  of  this  book  !  "  says  the  pious 
reader.  But,  reader,  it  is  only  harsh  to  those  who  have  idols. 
The  mother  can  bear  to  have  you  point  out  the  faults  and  defects 
of  her  neighbor's  children,  but  not  those  of  her  own.  Only  the 
virtues  of  them  must  be  named  to  her.  If  we  overlook  the  errors, 
how  shall  we  ever  correct  them  ?  We  have  not  attempted  to  screen 
the  Lone  One  from  the  blame  that  justly  belonged  to  him.  We 
have  only  given  him  what  belonged  to  him,  —  the  credit  of  hon- 
esty in  belief  and  motive ;  and  these  ever  prompted  him,  as  any 
one  might  know  from  the  fact  that  his  belief,  boldly  defended,  was 
always  the  unpopular  one.  One  of  the  members  of  the  six- 
months'  circle  before  referred  to  —  an  erratic,  disordered,  and 
eccentric  Scotchman,  with  domestic  troubles  and  social  inharmony 
—  became  insane  soon  after,  and,  claiming  to  be  controlled  by 
God,  or  Lambie,  or  the  Devil,  or  all  three,  and  more,  cut  up 
strange,  but  usually  harmless,  capers  about  the  village,  until  some 
frightened  and  threatened  citizens  took  him,  chained,  to  jail,  and 
then  the  horrors  of  spiritualism  were  exposed.  Insanity  was  its 
effect,  and  one  victim  was  already  before  the  public,  and  was  a 
sure,  sign  that  thousands  would  follow.  It  was  in  vain  that  its 
defenders  pointed  out  other  causes  ;  no  others  would  be  received. 
It  was  in  vain  they  showed  the  hundreds  of  victims  of  religious 
revivals  ;  these  had  plenty  of  causes  besides  religion.  But  this, 
find  one  or  two  they  heard  of  in  some  unknown  place,  made  it 
sure  this  delusion  was  of  the  Devil.  Now,  more  than  ever,  the 
Lone  One  saw  the  necessity  for  bold  and  strong  hearts  to  step  into 
the  field,  and  defend  the  cause  of  truth,  and  the  best  facts  the 


176  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

world  had  ever  discovered  of  another  life,  against  the  prejudice 
and  crushing  power  of  the  churches,  which  seemed  as  determined 
to  kill  it  out  in  its  infancy  as  Herod  and  the  priests  were  to  kill 
Jesus  in  his  infancy.  The  friends,  warned  in  a  dream,  seized  the 
young  child,  and  fled  into  the  Egypt  of  scepticism  and  Infidelity 
(I  use  the  term  Infidel  here  in  the  sense  the  Christians  do,  —  un- 
believers in  their  doctrines),  and  there  nursed  it;  and  it  grew,  in 
spite  of  the  Buffalo  doctors,  who  were  employed  by  the  priest  to 
strangle  it. 

Next,  Charles  Beecher  was  employed  to  christen  it  with  hot 
water,  or  "  hell-fire,"  that  it  might  die ;  but  it  was  miraculously 
preserved  against  this  also,  as  it  was  against  the  poison  emetics 
of  the  doctors.  Next,  the  speculators  came,  and  offered  great 
prices  for  it  as  a  slave  to  hunt  up  treasures,  thieves,  town-sites, 
and  corner-lots ;  but  it  could  not  be  bought,  and  they  cursed  it, 
and  said  it  would  not  pay ;  it  was  worthless,  a  nuisance,  and 
ought  to  be  killed ;  and  they  engaged  the  services  of  a  Dr.  Rich- 
mond, of  Ohio,  and  a  sceptic  —  Rogers  —  of  Boston  ;  and  they 
both  shot  at  it,  but  their  guns  kicked  them  both  over ;  and  when 
they  had  recovered,  like  the  Irishman,  they  saw  the  game  laugh- 
ing at  them,  and  discovered  that  they  had  the  wrong  end  of  the 
gun.  Only  one  course  seemed  to  be  left  to  rid  the  country  of 
t^is  terrible  enemy  to  sanity  and  religion,  and  that  was,  to  get 
some  president  of  a  college  to  issue  a  "  mandamus ;  "  and  they 
found  a  ready  tool  in  a  Mahan,  who  was  willing  to  take  the 
chances ;  and  he  filled  up  the  instrument,  but  made  a  fatal  mis- 
take in  the  names,  and  sent  his  own  religion  to  prison,  and 
"  damned  "  himself  "  to  everlasting  fame."  His  college  started 
down  a  decline,  and  he  went  up  "  Salt  River  "  soon  after,  and  has 
not  been  heard  from  since,  except  by  those  who  have  correspond- 
ence with  that  country.  Several  other  distinguished  citizens  in- 
jured themselves  permanently  or  temporarily  by  throwing  clubs  at 
this  object  of  hatred  to  them,  which  often  flew  back  and  hit  them- 
selves, with  more  or  less  force,  as  they  were  hurled  with  more  or 
less  fury  and  hate.  By  its  side,  and  in  its  defence,  stood  some  of 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  177 

the  noblest,  purest,  firmest,  and  truest  hearts  of  the  country  and 
the  world.  Robert  Owen  and  Dr.  Ashburner,  of  the  Old  World, 
came  early  to  see  the  child,  and  "  believed  on  him ;  "  and,  in  this 
country,  Hon.  J.  W.  Edmonds,  N.  P.  Tallmadge,  Senator  Simmons, 
J.  R.  Giddings,  B.  F.  Wade,  and  a  host  of  others  from  the  side 
of  law  and  government,  came  to  the  rescue ;  and  from  science 
came  Professor  Robert  Hare,  Professor  Mapes,  Professor  Bu- 
chanan, and  a  host  of  others  from  the  medicine  side  of  science ; 
and  from  the  theology  side  the  Universalists  and  Unitarians  let  up 
a  whole  delegation,  and  some  of  the  others  a  few  of  their  best 
specimens,  to  defend,  in  the.  days  of  its  odium,  the  philosophy  and 
demonstration  that  is  to  convince  the  world  of  immortality.  From 
the  ranks  of  the  quiet  reasoners  and  thinkers  of  the  cities  and 
country  a  host  fell  in  with  the  facts  as  fast  as  they  could  be  pre- 
sented to  them.  But  nearly  every  church  was  alarmed  ;  and  the 
watchmen  on  the  walls  of  Zion  were  sounding  the  cry  of  "  An 
enemy  is  coming !  Be  up,  and  ready  for  battle  !  Put  on  the 
whole  armor  of  the  Gospel !  We  will  lead  you  to  the  fight ! 
Come  on !  come  on  !  Here  is  the  old  enemy,  the  Devil,  in  a  new 
dress  !  Be  careful,  or  he  will  deceive  you  !  Look  only  to  us  ; 
trust  in  the  Lord ;  read  the  Bible !  Do  not  look  off  the  book,  for 
that  light  may  dazzle  or  bewilder  you  !  "  The  poor  dupes  were 
thus  led  captives  into  darkness  by  thousands,  who  might  ha^e 
seen  the  light  and  known  the  glorious  truths  of  the  new  gospel, 
and  it  would  have  set  them  free. 

"  There  surely  is  some  guiding  power 
Which  rightly  suffers  wrong,  — 
Gives  vice  to  bloom  its  little  hour, 
But  virtue  late  and  long." 

At  the  commencement  of  1853  the  fourth  decade  of  the  Lone 
One  terminated ;  and  forty  years  had  made  their  wrinkles  on  his 
brow,  whitened  and  curled  his  locks,  and  rather  straightened  than 
bent  his  form.  The  last  ten  had  done  the  work  for  his  mind.  He 
was  now  emancipated  from  the  bondage  to  cold  and  soulless  seep- 


178  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

ticism,  and  a  full  recipient  of  the  glorious  truths  of  spirit-life. 
Freed  from  all  political  obligations  and  aspirations,  he  sought  none 
of  its  places,  nor  would  he  accept  its  offers.  Free  from  the  Pha- 
lanx trials,  and  all  partial  and  isolated  efforts  to  save  a  few  souls, 
and  go  with  them  through  life  and  to  heaven,  his  philanthropy  was 
now  world-wide,  and  his  home  and  "  domain  "  the  world,  and  all 
men  members  of  the  Phalanx.  He  was  now  fully  the  cosmopo- 
lite, and  his  field  of  labor  the  world-home.  True,  his  little  means, 
amounting  perhaps  in  value  to  one  thousand  dollars,  was  in  a  little 
house-and-garden  home  for  his  family,  which  he  intended  sacredly 
to  guard  for  them.  But,  other  than  this,  his  home  and  his  busi- 
ness, his  time  and  his  talents,  were  all  now  devoted  to  the  spread 
and  dissemination  of  the  new  philosophy  of  spirit  life  and  inter- 
course. True,  for  some  time  after  he  had  devoted  himself  to  this 
new  business,  the  receipts  did  not  sustain  his  economical  family. 
But  he  was  not  disheartened,  but  borrowed  money  of  the  state  for 
that  purpose,  with  a  hope  that  it  would  not  sacrifice  his  little  home, 
and  it  did  not ;  for  God  always  helps  those  who  help  themselves, 
and  "  works  in  the  working  soul."  Nearly  all  his  old  friends  now 
deserted  him.  A  few  only  of  those  who  were  near  in  condition 
of  mind,  and  knew  him  best,  stood  by  him  in  this  last  and  best 
consecration  of  himself  to  the  last  and  most  odious  of  all  doc- 
trines, —  a  belief  in  spirits.  Although  this  itinerant  labor  did 
not  bring  dimes  as  a  reward,  it  brought  that  which  to  him  was 
equally  valuable,  —  warm  hearts,  sympathy,  open  homes,  and  wel- 
coming hands.  These  he  often  met,  and  they  cheered  him  on  his 
way,  and  encouraged  him  to  persevere,  but  not  more  effectually  or 
really  than  did  the  messages  from  the  spirit-home  which  often 
reached  him,  with  the  most  cheering  and  encouraging  expressions 
of  love  and  sympathy.  For  a  time,  the  lonesome  and  grieving 
mate  was  honestly  and  strongly  prejudiced  against  this  course,  and 
the  doctrine  he  taught ;  but  it  was  only  the  sickness  that  precedes 
the  action  of  the  emetic  which  brings  up  the  superfluous  bile ;  so 
this  threw  up  and  out,  in  time,  the  accumulations  of  the  years  in 
error,  with  old  Calvinism  at  the  bottom ;  all  went  over  together, 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  179 

and  she  became  freo  and  spiritually  healthy.  An  entire  change 
came  over  her  day  and  night  dreams.  She  saw,  she  heard;  she 
felt,  she  realized,  her  change  of  heart ;  and  she  was  a  convert  to 
the  new  philosophy,  and  thus  added  more  happiness  to  the  Life- 
Line  of  the  Lone  One  than  she  ever  had  before ;  for  now  one  heart, 
one  life,  one  destiny,  was  theirs.  Every  cloud  was  removed ;  and 
they  moved  so  sweetly  toward  the  sunset  of  life,  that  they  felt  it 
was  good  for  them  that  all  this  experience  had  been  gained  in  this 
life,  where  it  properly  belonged,  but  which  many  will  put  over  to 
the  next.  It  was  late,  indeed,  at  forty,  —  sixteen  years  after 
marriage,  —  to  renew  and  complete  the  courtship  which  had  been 
so  suddenly  interrupted,  and  lain  so  long  neglected ;  but  it  is  said 
by  some  to  be  "  better  late  than  never  ;  "  and  well  they  knew  that, 
with  many,  it  was  never  renewed  after  marriage,  and  sadly  de- 
ficient before.  Ah !  little  do  those  whose  lives  are  spent  in  the 
muddy  pool  of  sensual  and  external  life,  or  in  the  turbulent  stream 
of  contention  and  strife,  know  of  the  joys  of  harmonized  and 
happy  life,  with  the  ascendency  of  the  spiritual  over  the  physical 
self  in  conjugal  life ;  nor  can  they  know  until  they  reach  it.  Then, 

—  0,  what  a  payment  for  all  the  struggles  to  reach  the  summit ! 

—  what  an  ot-er-payment  for  the  night  of  life  spent  in  tears  and 
sorrows !     Now  his  home  was  lonely  without  him,  for  a  reason  ; 
and  the  pet  daughter,  joined  by  the  mother,  could  say,  but  not 
sing: 

"  Linger  not  long  !     Home  is  not  home  without  thee  ; 
Its  dearest  tokens  do  but  make  us  mourn. 
0  !  let  its  memory,  like  a  chain  about  thee, 
Gently  compel  and  hasten  thy  return  ! 

"  Linger  not  long  !     Though  crowds  should  woo  thy  staying, 
Bethink  thee,  can  the  mirth  of  friends,  though  dear, 
Compensate  for  the  grief  thy  long  delaying 
Costs  the  sad  hearts  that  sigh  to  have  thee  here  ?  " 

Now,  when  he  came,  the  leaping,  hearts  and  joyous  kiss  were 
ever  ready  to  meet  him,  and  happiness,  such  as  few  ever  realize 


180  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

in  this  life,  was  spread,  like  a  "  balm  of  thousand  flowers,"  on  all 
about  this  home.  His  friends  felt  it ;  but  his  enemies,  with 
poison-tongue  of  slander,  were  only  the  more  bitter,  when  every 
hope  of  making  trouble  in  his  family  was  lost,  by  her  conversion 
to  his  belief,  and  the  calm  and  happy  life  they  had  attained  foiled 
all  their  efforts  in  that  direction.  The  serpent  was  still  biting  at 
the  file,  although  its  teeth  were  often  broken  and  loosened,  while 
he  moved  steadily  on  his  course,  with  the  exclamation,  often, 

"  Not  all  they  do,  or  say,  can  make 
My  head,  or  tooth,  or  finger  ache, 
Nor  mar  rny  form,  nor  scar  my  face, 
Nor  put  one  feature  out  of  place  ; 
Nor  will  ten  thousand  lies 
Make  me  less  virtuous,  learned,  or  wise. 
Their  malice  the  best  way  to  balk, 
Is  quietly  to  let  them  talk." 

Envy,  malice,  spite,  and  lies,  were  multiplied,  and  sent  after 
him  and  before  him,  and  the  vigilant  enemies  of  his  teachings 
made  every  effort  in  their  power  to  destroy  his  influence  as  a 
teacher  of  the  Harmonial  Philosophy.  For  well  many  of  them 
knew  the  power  of  his  mind,  and  the  magnetism  of  his  language, 
with  truth  for  its  weapon.  To  defeat,  or  retard,  the  spread  of 
such  doctrine,  it  was  necessary,  at  whatever  cost,  to  stop  him  from 
advocating  it,  or  destroy  his  influence.  But  it  was  a  failure. 
Every  dart  sent  at  him  was  caught  on  his  shield,  and,  with  a  clear 
conscience  and  honest  heart,  boldly  and  fearlessly  he  moved  on, 
though  "  branded  by  the  slanderer's  lies,"  till  he  lived  them  down ; 
and  when  accusations  reached  him  he  smiled,  and  pitied  those  who 
aimed  them  at  him,  and  asked  those  who  received  them  as  true  to 
call  for  the  execution  of  the  law,  or  to  bring  him  the  person,  and 
the  testimony,  and  he  would  restore  four-fold.  This,  of  course, 
could  never  be  done ;  for  the  cry  of  "  wolf —  wolf! "  was  not  made 
because  wolves  were  near,  but  only  to  alarm  the  sheep.  He  also 
boldly  advocated  the  right  of  every  married  woman  to  an  equal 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  181 

share  and  control  of  all  property  of  the  family,  and  to  equal 
social,  civil,  religious,  and  political  privileges,  and  to  a  divorce 
whenever  she  asked  it,  even  without  being  obliged  to  reveal  or 
make  public  the  cause ;  for  well  he  and  many  others  knew  there 
were  thousands  of  suffering  victims  who  dare  not  mention  the 
causes  of  their  misery,  but  who  had  ample  cause,  and  good  reason, 
for  asking  for  divorce,  with  sufficient  property  to  sustain  them. 
These  doctrines  rendered  him  terribly  obnoxious  to  a  certain  class 
of  sensualists  and  petty  tyrants ;  but  they  brought  him  the  sympa- 
thy of  thousands  of  martyrs,  from  their  spirit-homes,  and  some  still 
lingering  here  ;  and  he  knew,  if  the  sufferers  were  his  friends,  that 
his  cause  was  a  righteous  one,  and  he  couid  afford  to  defend  it, 
however  unpopular,  for  he  was  by  birth,  education,  and  life,  the 
legitimate  attorney  of  all  odious  or  unpopular  truths  and  rights. 
Like  the  tree  which  brings  the  early  and  pleasant  apples,  he  had 
been  clubbed  and  pelted  all  his  life,  and  grown  stronger  and  more 
vigorous  thereby. 

"  Cheer  up,  cheer  up  !     Though  life  has  days, 

November  days,  I  ween, 
When  the  lone  heart  wails  like  the  wind, 

And  nothing  bright  is  seen  ; 
When  smiles  come  faintly  to  the  lips, 

And  eyes  glance  mournfully, 
And  hope  seems  like  a  faded  leaf 

Just  clinging  to  the  tree  ; 

"Yet  smile  —  cheer  up  !     New  hopes  and  joys 

Within  thy  heart  will  spring, 
And  He  whose  love  is  over  all 

A  spirit-balm  will  bring. 
Cheer  up,  nor  wear  a  clouded  brow, 

Thy  home  with  gloom  to  till  ; 
Thank  God  for  past  and  present  good, 
And  brood  not  o'er  the  ilL" 
16 


CHAPTER   V. 

FRACTIONAL  DECADE. 

The  Cosmopolite.  —  The  Harmonial  Man,  the  Happy  Family,  and  the  New 
Home.  —  The  Triumph  of  Justice. 

SECTION  I. 
ETERNAL    JUSTICE. 

BY   CHARLES   MACKAY. 

THE  man  is  thought  a  knave  or  fool, 

Or  bigot,  plotting  crime, 
Who,  for  the  advancement  of  his  kind, 

Is  wiser  than  his  time. 
For  him  the  hemlock  shall  distil, 

For  him  the  axe  be  bared  ; 
For  him  the  gibbet  shall  be  built, 

For  him  the  stake  prepared  ; 
Him  shall  the  scorn  and  wrath  of  men 

Pursue  with  deadly  aim  ; 
"And  malice,  envy,  spite,  and  lies, 

Shall  desecrate  his  name. 
But  truth  shall  conquer  at  the  last, 

For  round  and  round  we  run, 
And  ever  the  right  comes  uppermost, 

And  ever  is  justice  done. 

Pace  through  thy  cell,  old  Socrates, 

Cheerily,  to  and  fro  ! 
Trust  to  the  impulse  of  thy  soul, 

And  let  the  poison  flow. 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  183 

They  may  shatter  to  earth  the  lamp  of  clay 

That  holds  a  light  divine, 
But  they  cannot  quench  the  fire  of  thought 

By  any  such  deadly  wine  ; 
They  cannot  blot  thy  spoken  words 

From  the  memory  of  man, 
By  all  the  poison  ever  was  brewed 

Since  time  its  course  began. 
To-day  abhorred,  to-morrow  adored, 

So  round  and  round  we  run, 
And  ever  the  truth  comes  uppermost, 

And  ever  is  justice  done. 

Plod  in  thy  cave,  gray  Anchorite  ! 

Be  wiser  than  thy  peers  ; 
Augment  the  range  of  human  power, 

And  trust  to  coming  years. 
They  may  call  thee  wizard,  and  monk  accursed, 

And  load  thee  with  dispraise : 
Thou  wert  born  five  hundred  years  too  soon 

For  the  comfort  of  thy  days. 
But  not  too  soon  for  human  kind  : 

Time  hath  reward  in  store, 
And  the  demons  of  our  sires  become 

The  saints  that  we  adore. 
The  blind  can  see,  the  slave  is  lord  ; 

So  round  and  round  we  run, 
And  ever  the  wrong  is  proved  to  be  wrong, 

And  ever  is  justice  done. 

Keep,  Galileo,  to  thy  thought, 

And  nerve  thy  soul  to  bear! 
They  may  gloat  o'er  the  senseless  words  they  wring 

From  the  pangs  of  thy  despair  : 
They  may  veil  their  eyes,  but  they  cannot  hide 

The  sun's  meridian  glow  ; 
The  heel  of  a  priest  may  tread  thee  down, 

And  a  tyrant  work  thee  woe  ; 
But  never  a  truth  has  been  destroyed  : 

They  may  curse  it  and  call  it  crime  ; 
Pervert  and  betray,  or  slander  and  slay 

Its  teachers,  for  a  time. 


184  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

But  the  sunshine,  aye,  shall  light  the  sky, 

As  round  and  round  we  run, 
And  the  truth  shall  ever  come  uppermost, 

And  justice  shall  be  done. 

And  live  there  now  such  men  as  these, 

With  thoughts  like  the  great  of  old  ? 
Many  have  died  in  their  misery, 

And  left  their  thought  untold  ; 
And  many  live,  and  are  ranked  as  mad, 

And  placed  in  the  cold  world's  ban, 
For  sending  their  bright,  far-seeing  souls 

Three  centuries  iu  the  van. 
They  toil  in  penury  and  grief, 

Unknown,  if  not  maligned  ; 
Forlorn,  forlorn,  bearing  the  scorn 

Of  the  meanest  of  mankind. 
But  yet  the  world  goes  round  and  round, 

And  the  genial  seasons  run, 
And  ever  the  truth  comes  uppermost, 

And  ever  is  justice  done. 

The  remainder  of  this  record  will  be  mainly  from  the  notes  in 
the  Diary,  or  the  correspondence  of  the  Cosmopolite,  with  foreign 
items,  inserted  to  finish  or  furnish  the  apartment. 

Jan.  5,  1853. — A  juror  all  day  in  court-room  of  the  United 
States  district  court  in  Milwaukie,  with  the  thick-skulled  judge, 
of  whom  mention  is  made  in  this  narrative,  presiding,  and  a 
description  of  whose  character  and  capacity  was  written  at  the 
time  by  this  seer,  and  published  in  one  of  the  city  papers,  and 
brought  the  approval  and  compliments  of  the  ablest  attorney  in 
the  city  to  its  author.  While  the  United  States  paid  for  his  ser- 
vices at  court,  he  had  out  his  notices  and  lectured  evenings,  to 
small  but  respectable  audiences  in  the  city,  on  the  philosophy  of 
spirit  intercourse.  When  court  and  the  lectures  were  closed  in 
the  city,  he  journeyed  westward,  and  stopped  to  lecture  in  several 
small  villages,  arousing  much  interest  in,  and  opposition  to,  tho 
new  philosophy. 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  185 

Jan.  20,  '53.  —  Dines  with  the  governor  at  the  capital. 
Elected  an  officer  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  and 
declines  an  invitation  to  deliver  the  annual  address.  Lectures,  by 
invitation  of  Assembly,  in  the  Assembly  Hall  of  the  capitoi  to 
large  and  very  intelligent  audience,  who  seem  highly  pleased. 
Holds  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  Free-Soil  State  Convention, 
but  declines  all  offices  and  honors.  Writes  for  several  papers 
sketches  and  criticisms.  Gave  several  lectures  in  the  court-house, 
and  was  confined  for  a  week  to  house  with  rebellion  among  the 
nerves,  and  a  severe  battle  in  the  forts  of  the  mouth.  But  the 
soothing  hand  of  one  dear  friend,  whose  soul  sympathized  with 
his  philosophy,  rendered  misery  bearable;  but  she  had  seen  him 
in  sickness  and  health,  in  joy  and  grief,  and  well  she  knew  his 
life  was  above  the  rabble  that  abused  him  because  he  would  not 
bend  and  endorse  its  falsehoods  and  follies. . 

Feb.  1.  —  Accepted  renewal  of  commission  as  notary,  which  he 
had  held  for  some  years,  because  he  executed  most  of  the  deeds 
and  acknowledgments  of  the  village  when  at  home. 

Feb.  13.  —  Sunday,  holds  a  discussion  in  the  Methodist  church 
of  the  Ceresco  Valley  (for,  since  the  dissolution  of  the  Phalanx, 
one  had  been  erected  to  save  the  fragments)  with  the  most  vul- 
gar blackguard  he  ever  knew  to  be  clothed  with  priestly  gar- 
ments; but  he  conquered  him  by  mildness  and  good-humor,  and 
carried  the  audience  against  the  priest,  which  caused  the  door 
of  the  church  to  be  closed  ever  after  against  discussion  of  new 
or  old  truths. 

Feb.  20.  —  Again  at  the  capitoi,  endeavoring  to  secure  the 
passage  of  a  bill  to  incorporate  and  unite  the  villages  of  Hipon  and 
Ceresco,  under  the  name  of  Morena ;  but  he  left  it;  and  it  died 
before  birth.  He  met  several  warm  friends,  among  them  his  old 
senator-friend,  who  was  now  a  member  of  the  lower  house,  but 

Btill  Hon. .  A  whirlpool  of  excitement  was  at  this  time 

about  the  capitoi,  caused  by  an  effort  to  impeach  a  Judge  Hubbel, 
charged  with  more  crimes  than  Jesus  or  Robespierre ;  but  the 
accusers  were  less  successful  in  proving  them,  because  they  could 
16* 


186  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

not  find  the  sinless  man  to  cast  the  first  stone,  and  he  escaped 
with  his  judicial  neck  unbroken.  Whether  it  deserved  it  or  not, 
"  deponent  saith  not."  In  this  commotion  the  Cosmopolite  had 
no  share,  and  therefore  he  soon  moved  out  of  it. 

Feb.  20.  —  In  Janesville,  put  up  bills  himself,  and  lectured  in 
the  evening  to  small  audience,  in  large  hall.  Poor  subject,  they 
said,  but  good  speaker.  "  What  a  fool  he  is,  to  throw  himself 
away  on  that  ridiculous  humbug ! "  Here  he  made  the  first 
acquaintance  with  the  Higgins  family,  or  the  Columbians,  a  con- 
cert-band of  brothers  and  sisters.  The  younger  sister  was  then 
recovering  from  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever ;  in  treating 
which,  her  physician  had  taken  it  from  her,  and  died.  She  felt 
the  magnetic  healing  power  of  the  Lone  One's  system,  and 
admired  his  Harmonial  Philosophy  ;  for  this  herself,  and  one  sis- 
ter, two  brothers,  and  the  father  and  mother,  had  already 
embraced  and  advocated.  This  enlightened,  and  developed,  and 
happy  family  subsequently  became  his  personal  friends,  and  are 
to  this  day  highly  esteemed  by  him ;  for  they,  and  especially  the 
parents,  were  among  the  few  who  had  been  in  and  turned  out  of 
the  Calvinistic  church,  and  had  their  hearts  purified  and  refined 
in  the  refiner's  fire  of  persecution  ;  and  when  he  found  them  the 
sunshine  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  truth  and  deliverance  fell 
calmly  on  their  souls.  Two  sons,  with  happy  homes  of  their  own, 
are  in  Chicago.  One  has  a  Mary,  such  as  God  seldom  blesses 
man  with  in  this  life,  and  the  other  has  his  cup  of  domestic 
joy  overflowing.  Two  other  brothers  are  also  music-dealers  in 
Peorin,  111.,  and  how  or  what  they  have  for  domestic  music  we 
cannot  say,  but  their  souls  are  tuned  to  exquisite  strains  of 
"  nature's  harp-strings."  The  two  sisters  have  also  "  tied  up," 
and,  one  southing  and  the  other  northing,  have  no  doubt  found  joy 
and  sorrow  somewhat  mixed,  in  this  life,  but  probably  are  more 
beloved  and  happy  than  most  wedded  hearts  in  the  world's  broad 
battle-field.  Their  homes  cannot  be  other  than  homes  of  purity 
and  love,  for  such  their  hearts  ever  were ;  and  nature  and  educa- 
tion never  qualified  two  females  better  than  they  did  these  for 


LIFE-LINE  OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  187 

domestic  happiness.  The  home  of  the  parents  is  in  Palmyra, 
Wis.,  where  the  Lone  One  occasionally  has  a  happy  day  of  rest. 
Thus  the  parted  voices  of  the  Columbians  are  uttering  other  music 
in  new  concerts  ;  but  each  voice  can  ye£  sing  the  story  of  the 
Jordan  road,  and  Judson  can  make  you  gaze  after  the  "  Old  Mill 
by  the  hill-side  where  we  used  to  go  in  the  summer-time." 

The  following  token  from  one  of  the  family,  received  by  the 
Lone  One,  at  the  close  of  a  short  visit  at  the  old  homestead,  may 
serve  as  a  specimen  of  their  appreciation  of  him,  and  also  as  one 
like  many  others  in  the  journeyings  of  after  years. 


BROTHER:    You   are  going   now  far  away,  on  your 
angel-mission.     The   brief  period    you  have  been    with   us   has 
indeed  been  precious  to  our  hungry  souls  ;  it  will  ever  be  remem- 
bered with  pleasure;  and  gratitude  will  swell  our  hearts  in  think- 
ing of  the  kind  words,  and  tender  expressions  of  love  and  sympa- 
thy, that  have  flowed  so  spontaneously  from  your  heart  and  lips. 
Th*e  heavenly  sphere  so  truly  yours  attracts  us,  and  we  can  but 
love  to-be  with  you,  and  regret  your  short  stay  with  us.    But  you 
will  not  forget  us,  though  absent  ;   and,  though  other  and  dearer 
friends  surround  you,  I  know  we  shall  be  remembered  in  your 
prayers,  and  the  expressions  of  your  heart.     We  wish  a  thought 
once  in  a  while  from  our  brother  .......  and  if  it  would  not 

tax  too  much  on  the  time  devoted  to  others,  we  should  be  glad  to 
receive  thoughts  on  scraps  of  paper.  Now  good-by  !  Heaven  will 
ever  bless  one  so  good  and  worthy  as  thou  art  ;  and  when  the 
time  comes  will  give  to  thee  that  lovely  home  so  beautifully 
described  to  us  by  the  dwellers  there.  That  we  may  all  meet  in 
that  happy  home,  is  the  prayer  of  thy  sister  and  each  of  us."  .  .  . 

We  might  select  from  his  margin  scrap-book  many  specimens, 
from  many  authors,  of  purity  and  love,  like  the  above,  of  a  cor- 
respondence which,  running  through  years,  led  the  vulgar  and 
Jicentious  to  believe  he  was  continuing  it  from  such  motives  only 
as  could  prompt  them  to  correspond  with  females. 


188  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

March  2.  —  Leaves  Janesville ;  expenses  six  dollars  more  than 
receipts  for  lectures.  Go  to  Beloit,  and 

Sunday,  March  6.  —  Lecture  in  place  of  Universalist  preacher, 
and  in  the  evening  lecture  on  marriage  to  a  full  house ;  good  recep- 
tion, but  few  spiritualists.  Theological  professors  of  the  college 
keep  the  place  in  ignorance  and  darkness  on  this  subject,  by 
assuming  to  know  all  about  what  they  know  nothing  about. 

March  1.  —  Went  to  liockton,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of 
George  Guthrie  and  Mrs.  E.  M.  Guthrie  and  her  mother  and  two 
sisters,  all  members  of  God's  new  church  of  Harmonialists. 
George  was  nearly  unbodied  by  consumption,  and  he  requested 
the  Lone  One  to  stay  with  him  a  few  days,  and  point  out  the  way 
through  the  valley  of  darkness  to  the  sunny  and  flowery  lands 
beyond.  He  did  so,  at  the  same  time  relieving  his  body  from 
much  pain ;  which  body  a  few  weeks  after  he  left  entirely,  and  in 
a  new  sphere  commenced  the  work  of  preparing  another  home  for 
Emily  and  their  boy.  Many  months  after  his  exodus  from  earth- 
life,  he  came  to  the  Lone  One  through  a  medium,  far  away  from  his 
earthly  home,  and  related  much  of  his  experience  in  the  new  life, 
as  he  promised  to  do  when  in  his  body.  Not  long  after,  the  mother 
of  Emily  also,  long  a  sufferer,  made  her  escape  from  the  body  of 
pain,  and  met  her  companion,  who  was  waiting  her  at  the  entrance 
of  the  spirit-home.  Thus  Emily  and  Elizabeth  were  unhoused  ; 
but  Mary  had  still  a  home  of  her  own,  and  a  husband  to  supply 
it.  Emily,  whose  soul  had  flowed  out  in  poetry  and  prose  that 
had  interested  and  delighted  many  readers  of  the  New  York 
Tribune  and  other  papers,  had  her  heart  wounded  by  the  separa- 
tion from  George ;  and  an  attempt  to  supply  his  place  by  a  subse- 
quent marriage  came  near  carrying  her  body  to  the  grave,  and 
proved  how  futile  are  all  attempts  to  make  commercial  marriages 
happy.  A  few  weeks  only  did  she  live  in  a  miserable  earthly 
union,  when  she  broke  the  bond  that  would  in  a  few  more  weeks 
have  broken  her  thread  of  earth-life,  and  with  her  boy  joined 
again  her  sister,  a  wiser  and  better  spirit ,  for  such  trials  ever 
develop,  and  often  purify,  the  victims.  These  two  sisters,, now 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  189 

homeless,  became  itinerating  .preachers  of  the  new  gospel,  and, 
for  aught  we  know,  are  preaching  "  to  this  day."  Wherever 
they  are,  they  are  messengers  of  heaven,  and  preaching  for  the 
Harmonial  age,  and  struggling  with  a  wicked  world  and  its  false 
societies,  which  ever  pays  its  best  teachers  with  persecution  or  death. 
A  few  words  of  extract  from  a  letter  from  this  noble  soul  may  serve 
to  show  her  true  spirit,  and  its  appreciation  of  the  Lone  One. 

"  March,  '53.  —  We  received  your  joyously-welcomed  letter  in 
due  time.  It  came  with  soothing  magnetic  power  to  George,  for 
which  he  was  deeply  grateful,  as  we  all  are.  He  has  not  been 
troubled  with  headache  since  you  left ;  yet  he  has  often  wished 

you  were  with  us But,  to  answer  the  question  propounded 

in  your  very  interesting  note  to  the  three  sisters. 

Ah,  yes,  we  will  strive  to  meet  -with  you  there, 
To  dwell  'neath  the  Infinite  Father's  care, 
Where  nature's  laws  are  the  guide  of  the  soul, 
Liberty  only  our  footsteps  controls  ; 
Where  harmony  lulls  all  strife  to  repose, 
Life  with  eternity  only  shall  close  ; 
The  universe  broad  the  field  we  explore, 
And  spirits  congenial  are  near  evermore. ' ' 

Not  more  than  a  dozen  souls  could  be  called  out  to  lectures  at 
that  time  in  Rockton,  who  could  understand,  or  who  wished  to 
understand,  the  Harmonial  Philosophy. 

March  11,  '53.  —  At  the  beautiful  home  of  Dr.  George  Haskell, 
in  Rockford.  The  doctor's  connection  with  the  Baptist  church 
had  been  already  disturbed  by  sounds  and  sentiments  from  the 
spiritrworld.  By  his  aid,  and  the  already  harmonized  and  spir- 
itualized family  of  Dr.  Rudd,  quite  an  interest  was  awakened  in 
the  young  city,  and  eight  or  ten  lectures  were  given  to  good 
audiences,  and  a  permanent  condition  of  inquiry  and  investigation 
started,  that  has  not  yet  been  preached  down  nor  prayed  down. 
Dr.  Haskell,  soon  fully  emancipated,  became  one  of  the  boldest 
and  ablest  defenders  of  the  new  gospel  in  the  West,  both  with 
tongue  and  pen ;  and  the  powers  of  earth  might  as  well  attempt  to 


190  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

encase  a  singing-bird  a  second  time  in  its  shell,  as  to  return  him 
to  the  little  close-communion  creed  from  which  he  has  emerged. 
At  Dr.  Rudd's  the  Lone  One  found,  now  and  ever,  one  of  his  most 
happy  and  congenial  homes,  to  which  he  several  times  returned 
with  pleasure,  to  meet  such  spirits  as  he  expected  to  meet  on  the 
other  side  of  Jordan. 

March  23.  —  At  Belvidere,  at  the  house  of  Barney  Smith,  who 
was  a  prominent  target  for  the  shooters  who  considered  themselves 
sharp  enough  to  kill  spirits  with  shots  from  the  pulpit  or  bar- 
room. Here  he  parted  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archer,  who  were 
registered  in  heaven  among  his  earliest  and  latest  friends,  as  they 
were  to  all  persons  whom  man  oppressed. 

March  26.  —  At  Elgin,  at  the  house  of  a  host  embodied  in  the 
person  of  N.  E.  Dagget,  who  had  for  years  taken  the  wind  out  of 
the  sails  of  preachers,  and  been  a  stumbling-block  to  the  churches ; 
and  now  he  became  the  ablest  "  defender  of  the  faith  "  in  spirit- 
ualism in  "  all  the  region  round  about."  They  did  have  good 
times,  at  the  four-mile  circle,  on  Sundays,  in  those  days ;  but  now 
they  seem  as  the  days  of  "  long  ago." 

April  4.  —  A  course  of  lectures  in  Chicago ;  did  not  pay  ex- 
penses :  for  the  excitement  created  by  Seth  Paine  and  Ira  B.  Eddy 
had  laid  the  spirits,  for  a  time,  and  the  Lone  One  could  not  raise 
them  or  the  dead  people,  and  of  course  he  went  out  of  the  city 
minus  dollars  and  words.  But  he  knew  this  gospel  had  to  be 
preached  at  somebody's  expense. 

April  8.  — In  Waukegan,  but,  alas !  Seth  Paine  had  been  there, 
and  some  persons,  accustomed  to  magnifying  trifles,  told  large 
stories  on  small  capital,  and  what  was  nobody's  business  was  at- 
tended to  by  everybody,  as  usual,  —  a  sort  of  change,  for  nobody 
usually  attends  to  everybody's  business.  They  got  up  good  meet- 
ings, in  spite  of  slander;  and  the  gospel  went  home  with  many 
souls,  and  quickened  them  into  life.  This  was  one  of  the  early- 
lighted  places,  and  has  never  let  its  lamp  go  out,  but  has  rather 
illuminated  the  whole  city  and  county  by  its  rays,  shed  in  lectures, 
and  its  papers.  The  Lone  One  met  and  left  many  good  friends  at 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  191 

this  place ;  but  we  cannot  single  out  one  or  two,  nor  name  all,  and 
hence  leave  them  with  Ira  Porter  for  selection. 

April  15.  —  At  the  Kenosha,  once  the  old  Southport  home, 
but  now  a  dead  place,  with  a  few  live  friends  in  it,  and  the  graves 
of  his  boys.  The  people  would  nearly  all  come  to  hear  him  lec- 
ture, if  he  would  speak  at,  or  on,  some  subject  that  they  were  not 
prejudiced  against.  But  the  Rochester  knockings,  and  the  com- 
munications of  dead  folks,  could  not  be  crammed  into  their  heads, 
which  were  already  overstocked  with  speculation  and  religion ;  but 
there  were  Sholes  in  the  place  (each  one  wrote  the  we  for  the  /), 
and  God  never  cased  better  spirits  than  were  in  these  frames ;  but 
they  were  few  and  not  far  between,  nor  was  it  far  from  them  to 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Their  homes  were  always  homes  for  Lone 
Ones  from  anywhere,  and  they  always  had  a  meeting  when  any 
one  came  along  who  could  say  a  say  for  God  or  man. 

April  21.  —  In  the  eve  came  off  the  closing  lecture  of  the  course, 
and  a  terrible  storm  shut  out  all  but  seven  men,  to  whom  a  long 
discourse  was  given ;  for,  the  mayor  being  present,  order  was  pre- 
served, the  fees  collected,  and  they  would  have  their  pay  for 
breaking  the  storm.  Racine  took  a  few  lectures,  and  gave  him  a 
good  visit  in  return.  One  of  them,  in  Rev.  A.  C.  Barry's  church, 
went  off  at  par ;  the  rest  were  sold  at  a  discount. 

May  2.  —  The  steamboat  landed  one  passenger,  certainly,  at 
Milwaukie,  and  the  Lone  One  had  belted  a  district,  and  counted 
the  cost,  and  weighed  the  profit.  Here  he  had  an  acquaintance 
with  one  of  God's  children,  in  Dr.  J.  P.  Greaves ;  and  one  of  the 
children  of  science,  in  his  skilful  homoeopathic  partner.  By  the  aid 
of  Dr.  G.,  whose  pocket  was  short  then,  but  afterwards  greatly 
lengthened,  the  gospel  had  been  spreading;  —  a  hall  was  soon 
secured,  and  another  course  of  lectures  were  scattered.  At  this 
visit  he  became  acquainted  with  one  of  the  most  deplorable  cases 
of  manslaughter  he  ever  knew  ;  and,  by  expressing  sympathy  for 
the  victim,  he  aroused  the  anger,  and  awakened  the  hatred,  of  the 
cruel  tyrant ;  but  he  felt  more  than  ever  called  upon  to  talk  and 
write  against  domestic  slavery,  and  tyranny,  and  the  soulless 


192  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

cruelty  of  lust  in  wedlock,  with  a  victim ;  and  this,  of  course, 
aroused  the  ire,  more  than  ever,  of  the  petty  tyrant.  This  poor 
victim,  a  delicate  and  sensitive,  highly-nervous,  and  very  affectionate 
lady,  for  near  twenty  years  the  slave  to  a  man  of  coarse  organiza- 
tion, full  of  lust,  a  tyrant  in  manners  and  actions,  who  had  forced 
upon  her  unwilling  body  and  mind  maternity  near  a  dozen  times, 
and  when  she  remonstrated,  with  decision,  claiming  control  of  her 
person,  and  the  right  to  keep  it  pure,  he  became  a  madman,  and  in 
rage  and  jealousy  joined  the  rabble  in  slandering  the  mother  of 
his  children,  and  accusing  her  of  all  manner  of  vices,  which  were 
charged  to  spiritualists,  because  with  them  she  found  sympathy 
and  encouragement  in  her  honesty  and  purity  of  life.  Should  the 
reader  ever  meet  Dr.  G.,  he  or  she  can  learn  from  him  more  of 
this  heartless  cruelty,  and  suffering  victim.  At  this  time  he  also 
became  acquainted  with  a  Mrs.  P.,  one  of  nature's  noble  women, 
intellectual,  refined,  ambitious,  and  emotional.  She  had  been 
unhappily  mated,  and,  after  many  years  of  suffering,  her  legal 
husband  left  her  to  support  their  three  children,  and  went  to  Cali- 
fornia ;  and  when  it  was  well  ascertained  that  he  had  abandoned 
her  entirely,  she  procured  a  divorce,  and  married  one  who  loved 
her.  This  brought  the  condemnation,  scorn,  and  disgust,  of  those 
who  styled  themselves  the  fashionable  and  popular  circles  of  society. 
A  few  weeks  after  her  marriage  her  new,  and  true,  husband  died, 
and  she  had  no  one  to  shield  her  from  poverty  and  the  scorn  of  the 
world.  Of  course  it  was  not  the  duty  of  any  Christian  to  aid  or 
comfort  her,  for  she  had  broken  their  sacred  tie  of  legal  marriage ; 
and  they  not  only  let  her  suffer,  but  heaped  slander  on  her  with 
their  scorn,  that  often  sent  the  licentious  to  her  to  be  repulsed 
with  contempt;  and,  thus  enraged,  they  would  join  the  popu'ar 
cry,  and  thus  she  had  all  against  her  except  the  few  spiritualists 
who  alone  respected,  appreciated,  and  sympathized  with  her ;  and 
here  again,  as  in  many  instances,  the  pure  and  suffering  victims 
of  popular  prejudice  found  their  character  and  reputation  con- 
nected with  the  persecuted  spiritualists,  even  before  they  were 
believers  in  the  philosophy.  Soon  after  this,  the  father  of  her 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE    LONE   ONE.  193 

children  died  in  California,  leaving  some  property,  which  the 
scheming  and  designing  enemies  prevented  from  reaching  the 
children,  and  left  them  all  to  suffer  in  extreme  poverty,  for  aught 
I  know,  "  to  this  day,"  relieved  only  slightly  and  occasionally  by 
a  kind  old  mother  in  England. 

These  were  not  all,  but  only  a  few,  of  the  reasons  why  the  Lone 
One  was  found  in  defence  of  the  suffering  victims  of  a  perverted 
institution,  which,  like  a  bad  government,  oppresses  those  it  should 
protect.  He  never  did  advocate  its  abolition,  nor  did  he  ever 
believe  it  could  be  dispensed  with  ;  but  he  advocated  those  changes 
already  alluded  to,  with  a  release  of  all  the  sufferers,  without 
public  scorn,  as  a  consequence  of  freedom,  as  it  now  is,  for  woman. 
At  this  visit  he  also  met  (and  it  was  the  only  time  he  ever  did 
meet  away  from  her  home)  the  lady  with  whom  he  had  so  long 
corresponded,  the  author  of  the  stolen  letter.  In  passing  through 
the  city  she  saw  a  notice  of  his  lectures,  and  called  on  him ;  and 
they  called  on,  and  sympathized  with,  Mrs.  P. ;  when  she  returned, 
took  the  cars,  and  at  the  end  of  the  iron  track  the  stage,  and  was 
soon  at  her  home,  where  she  wrote  the  fatal  letter,  and  referred  to 
this  meeting  in  it,  which  made  the  gist  of  the  accusation,  with  the 
answer  to  some  questions  which  he  had  asked  her  in  a  letter,  in 
regard  to  her  married  and  childless  life.  But  the  slanders  con- 
nected with  his  sympathy  for  these  suffering  victims  in  Milwaukie 
were  not  less  actively  heralded,  and  the  enemies  thought  surely 
now  they  could  destroy  his  influence,  and  several  chiefs  in  the 
army  of  slanderers  were  appointed ;  but  the  staff-officers  were  the 
Methodist  preacher,  whom  the  better  portion  of  his  own  church 
would  not  fellowship,  and  the  Ripon  pettifogger,  who  had  atoned 
for  his  infidelity  by  his  abuse  of  spiritualism,  and  afterwards 
still  more  effectually  through  a  little  seven-by-nine  village  paper 
which  accidentally  fell  into  his  hands,  and  in  which  he  echoed  the 
abuse  and  slander  of  all  humane  efforts  at  reform  and  the  ameli- 
oration of  suffering  that  the  church  did  not  endorse ;  and  last,  but 
not  least,  the  Presbyterian  deacon  of  the  valley,  who  had  a  hard 
experience  in  early  life  in  a  state  institution,  but  who  now  added 
17 


194  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

the  dignity  to  the  staff,  an  essential  ingredient  of  which  the  others 
were  deficient.  During  this  stay  he  also  met  Miss  Cora  L.  V. 
Scott  and  her  mother.  With  the  family  he  had  a  previous 
acquaintance,  and  had  discovered  the  peculiar  and  remarkable 
mediumship  of  Cora  and  her  remarkable  organization  of  brain,  when 
he  first  met  her,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  a  little  school-girl,  at  Lake 
Mills,  Wisconsin.  She  performed  some  remarkable  feats  of 
mediumship  in  Milwaukie  on  this  and  other  visits,  which,  like 
others  of  the  kind,  could  only  be  denied,  scouted,  and  ridiculed, 
where  they  were  not  known,  and  when  the  instruments  were  absent. 

May  24.  —  Pleasant  visit  with  H.  D.  Barren  and  his  amiable 
lady,  at  Waukesha.  They  were  among  the  first  defenders  of  the 
rappers  in  Hydeville  and  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  and,  knowing  the  truth, 
it  had  made  them  free. 

June  5.  —  At  Lake  Mills  he  met  Dr.  Joslyn  and  several 
families,  with  one  of  the  best  and  most  successful  circles  he  had 
ever  met,  in  which  Cora  L.  V.  Scott  was  rapidly  developing, 
and  several  others  giving  good  tests  of  the  presence  of  particular 
spirits.  Here  he  gave  several  lectures  to  good  audiences,  as  he 
had  at  Genesee  and  other  small  towns. 

June  8.  —  A  delegate  and  in  attendance  at  the  capital,  in  a 
state  convention,  making  speeches,  nominating  candidates,  etc., 
and  exerting  as  much  influence  as  ever,  and  even  more ;  for  his 
powers  of  eloquence  were  enhanced  by  spiritual  aid,  and  his 
recent  labors. 

June  9.  —  Takes  part  in  the  State  Temperance  Convention, 
and  makes  speeches,  as  he  often  had  in  that  cause  ;  but  he  found 
too  much  of  a  sectarian  and  religiously-bigoted  spirit  pervading 
this  movement  for  its  own  good  or  success,  and  he  could  not  feel 
in  harmony  and  full  fellowship  with  the  movement;  for  well  he 
knew  that  whatever  reform  the  clergy  took  hold  of  was  thereby 
poisoned  to  death,  for  their  kid  gloves  soon  crowded  off  the  hard- 
ened hands  of  labor,  without  which  there  could  be  no  success. 

June  11. —  He  reached  his  valley  home,  and  soon  found  the 
effects  of  the  lies  based  on  the  stolen  letter  before  referred  to, 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  195 

They  knew  his  non-resistant  and  peace  principles  would  not  allow 
him  to  prosecute  them,  and  hence  they  took  more  liberties  than 
the  law  would  justify,  with  only  one  cause,  one  reason,  for  their 
abuse  :  —  because  he  was  a  defender  of  spirits  and  spirit-inter- 
course. 

.  .  .  .  "  Every  age  on  him  who  strays 
From  its  broad  and  beaten  ways 

Pours  its  seven-fold  vial. 
Happy  he  whose  inward  ear 
Angel-whisperings  can  hear, 

O'er  the  rabble's  laughter  ; 
And,  while  hatred's  fagots  burn, 
Glimpses  through  the  smoke  discern. 
Of  the  good  hereafter. 

"  Knowing  this,  that  never  yet 
Share  of  truth  was  vainly  set 
In  this  world's  wide  fallow  ; 
After  hands  shall  sow  the  seed, 
After  hands  from  hill  and  mead 
Reap  the  harvest  yellow. 

"  Thus,  with  somewhat  of  the  seer, 
Must  the  moral  pioneer 

From  the  future  borrow  ; 
Clothe  the  waste  with  dream  of  grain, 
And  on  the  midnight  sky  of  rain 

Paint  the  golden  morrow." 

When  his  letter  informed  the  delicate  and  noble  soul  of  the  lady 
that  her  letter  was  stolen,  and  in  the  hands  of  the  most  wicked 
and  licentious  of  preachers,  the  news  almost  married  her  to  insan- 
ity or  self-destruction  ;  for  well  she  knew  what  use  such  heartless 
and  polluted  wretches  would  make  of  her  language  uttered  to  one 
in  whom  she  had  implicit  confidence,  and  in  whom  she  knew  her 
confidence  was  not  misplaced  ;  and  especially  of  such  language  as 
he  alone  would  understand  correctly,  because  it  was  connected 
with  a  long  line  of  correspondence,  and  the  words  and  sentences 
much,  abbreviated  —  just  what  the  guilty  and  suspicious  would 


196  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    OJCii. 

need,  to  carry  out  their  suspicions.  The  pedlers  of  gossip,  by  the 
aid  of  the  priest  and  pettifogger,  soon  made  a  good  story  out  of 
this  letter,  which  story  ran  somewhat  in  this  wise :  That  the  Lone 
One,  when  absent  from  home,  lived  with  the  author  of  this  letter, 
and  had  already  raised  two  children  by  her,  etc. ;  when,  in  truth, 
he  had  never  seen  her  away  from  her  home,  except  in  the  one  instance 
referred  to,  and  never  at  her  home  when  her  husband  was  absent ; 
and  she  never  was  the  mother  of  a  child,  and  was  a  leading  member 
of  a  church,  and  by  all  beloved  and  respected,  and  as  worthy  a 
member  as  any  church  possessed,  and  one  whose  life  was,  to  all 
who  knew  her,  above  suspicion,  and  whose  conscience  was  as  void 
of  offence  in  this  intercourse  as  an  angel's  could  be.  But,  when 
their  own  researches  brought  the  truth  of  her  situation  to  light, 
they  at  once  changed  the  direction  of  the  stories,  and  sent  them 
on  suspicion  that  there  must  be  others,  —  at  least  to  the  number 
of  five  or  six  women,  —  in  different  places,  with  which  he  spent 
his  time  when  absent  from  home ;  and  although  he  was  never 
absent  a  week  without  writing  home,  and  often  had  his  letters 
published,  with  name,  and  date,  and  public  notices  of  his  lectures, 
and  address  could  be  found  at  all  times,  yet  all  these  facts  were 
of  no  weight  against  the  lies  in  the  minds  of  the  enemies  of 
spiritualism ;  and,  although  there  had  never  been  a  lisp  of  slan- 
der against  him  or  his  moral  character  before  he  became  a  spirit- 
ualist, yet  now,  at  the  age  of  forty,  he  had  all  at  once  become  the 
most  licentious  of  all  men,  and  that,  too,  unaccompanied  by  any 
of  the  foods  or  drinks  which  cause  or  accompany  such  conditions 
in  all  others.  And,  although  they  could  never  find  a  victim  of  his, 
nor  a  bad  character  with  whom  he  ever  secretly  associated,  yet  this 
was  not  a  defence  ;  for  he  was  a  spiritualist,  and  of  course  he  was 
bad  and  licentious,  for  the  priest  said  they  all  were,  asheknew  the 
Fox  family  were  —  they  had  been  Methodists,  and  were  turned 
out,  while  he  remained  in  the  fold.  But,  in  truth,  he  knew  nothing 
about  them,  nor  the  Lone  One  either,  except  that  they  believed  in 
spirit-intercourse ;  and  even  that  he  could  not  have  known,  had 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  197 

they  not  been  more  honest  than  himself;  for  you  could  never  judge 
of  his  belief  by  his  words. 

But  all  these  slanders  and  falsehoods  were  no  real  or  permanent 
injury  to  the  Lone  One,  or  his  mate.  To  her  they  proved  bless- 
ings in  disguise ;  but  on  him  they  had  little  or  uo  effect,  for  he 
moved  steadily  and  calmly  on  his  course,  unruffled  and  unharmed. 
Some  timid  and  wavering  souls  were  sometimes  prevented  by  them 
from  attending  his  lectures ;  for  the  stories  were  sent  far  and  near, 
wherever  he  was  known  to  be  travelling  and  lecturing,  and  where- 
cver  there  was  a  priest  or  a  Christian  to  send  them  to.  This  was 
all  the  effect  he  felt  from  them  ;  and  this  fell  on  other  heads,  not 
his,  for  they  often  lost  the  benefit  of  his  experience  and  observa- 
tion, as  given  in  his  early  lectures. 

Sunday,  June  19.  —  He  lectured  at  the  valley  home,  to  large 
audiences,  better  than  usual ;  for  many  enemies  came  to  see  how 
their  lies  had  affected  him,  and  found  no  change  in  him.  The 
same  calm,  firm,  consistent  and  energetic  self-reliance  and  devotion 
to  his  subject.  The  wife  was  not  yet  developed,  but  the  fever  had 
turned,  and  she  was  rapidly  growing  into  the  calmness  of  the  har- 
monial  life.  The  enemies  of  her  happiness  and  the  harmony  of 
her  family  renewed  and  strengthened  their  efforts  to  prevent  this ; 
but  his  influence  and  that  of  her  spirit-friends  soon  overcame 
them.  She  had  so  long  held  herself  aloof  from  the  spiritualists, 
and  considered  them  either  as  her  enemies  or  deluded,  that  it  was 
a  hard  trial  for  her  to  turn  to  them  as  friends.  When  she  came  to 
them  she  found  them  with  open  arms,  welcoming  and  forgiving ; 
and  ever  after  found  them  her  true  and  real  friends,  honest  and 
confiding,  and  entirely  unlike  their  enemies,  whose  selfish  and  jeal- 
ous souls  only  tried  to  use  her  to  accomplish  their  own  ends,  in 
destroying  his  influence.  The  notes  in  the  diary  at  this  time 
mention  a  strong  internal  pressure  from  the  spirit-world  to  start 
again  into  the  field  of  labor ;  for  his  restless  and  ever-active  mind 
would  not  stay  long  at  home  without  starting  some  business,  and 
it  might  be  such  as  would  prevent  him  from  doing  the  work  his 
guardians  designed  him  for ;  and  hence  the  constant  messages 
17* 


198  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

through  mediums,  and  by  impression,  to  start  again ;  and  his  only 
fear  and  reluctance  arose  from  the  pecuniary  wants  of  his  family, 
which  he  feared  could  not  be  supplied  by  lecturing. 

June  26.  —  Lectured  in  Omro  ;  met  good  friends,  had  pleas- 
ant visit  of  several  days,  and  found  some  good  mediums.  Among 
the  first  was  Dr.  McAllister,  a  man  of  science,  skill,  and  reputa- 
tion, and  a  bold  defender  of  the  truth  of  spirit-intercourse. 

June  28.  —  Visited  Dr.  McNish,  of  Berlin,  a  man  of  science 
and  skill,  and  much  reading,  who,  being  a  bold  and  free  inquirer 
after  truth,  had  examined  and  found  some  truth  in  spiritualism, 
and  more  honesty  and  morality  than  in  any  phase  of  sectarian 
Christianity,  and  was  therefore  found  in  its  defence.  He  had  long 
been  a  personal  friend  of  the  Lone  One,  and  ever  defended  him 
against  the  slanders  and  abuse  of  which  he  knew  well  the  cause 
to  be  religious  bigotry  and  sectarian  hatred. 

Sunday,  July  3.  —  Lectures  at  the  valley  home,  and  the 
Methodist  priest  attends  one  lecture,  and  receives  a  good  descrip- 
tion of  himself,  as  one  of  the  opponents  of  reform  and  spiritual 
truth.  He  bears  it,  but  never  comes  again,  nor  offers  to  reply, 
and  soon  after  leaves  the  place. 

July  4.  —  Makes  a  speech  to  the  large  assembly  in  the  grove 
at  Ripon,  where  he  is  much  extolled  by  the  highly-pleased  audi- 
ence ;  and  all,  except  a  few  jealous  persons,  who  were  ever  afraid 
of  his  influence,  knowing  that  he  would  always  use  it  for  the 
whole  human  family,  and  not  for  persons,  or  a  party,  or  sect  of 
any  kind,  because  he  was  the  World's  Child,  and  now  a  Cosmopo- 
lite. 

July  8.  —  At  the  magnificent  home  of  Ex-Gov.  Tallmadge,  — 
not  to  get  his  signature  to  a  charter,  —  but  the  ex -governor  had 
become  a  spiritualist,  and  the  Lone  One  wished  to  know  what  had 
drawn  him  and  his  family  over  the  walls  of  the  Episcopal  church  ; 
and  soon  learned  it  was  facts  —  incontrovertible  facts  —  of  spirit 
presence  and  intercourse.  His  heart  was  made  glad  by  the  acces- 
sion of  this  noble  soul  and  excellent  family  to  the  then  little  band 
of  defenders  of  the  most  odious  and  unpopular  truth.  A  pleasant 


LIFE-LINE   OP   THE   LONE   ONE.  199 

day,  fine  circle,  good  manifestations,  and  the  excellent  visit,  were 
soon  over  ;  and  he  left  with  a  promise  from  the  ex-governor  to 
lecture  in  Fond-du-lac,  where  no  voice  but  that  of  the  Lone  One 
had  been  heard  in  public  in  defence  of  spirit-intercourse ;  for  he 
had  been  the  ice-breaker  for  this  truth  in  all  that  portion  of  the 
state. 

Sunday,  10.  —  Made  temperance  speech  in  Presbyterian 
church  at  Ripon,  and  the  Methodist  ranter  tried  to  make  one  also, 
but  failed  to  do  more  than  disgust  the  audience,  and  confuse 
himself.  A  strong  spiritual  influence  operated  in  the  meeting, 
and  bore  the  Lone  One  in  triumph  over  sectarianism  ;  and  they, 
seeing  it,  let  the  cause  die  immediately  after,  by  closing  the  meet- 
ing and  the  church ;  for  it  was  not  temperance  they  wished  to 
subserve,  but  sectarianism. 

At  this  period,  in  the  rage  of  slander,  it  required  all  the  philos- 
ophy and  spirit-influence  to  prevent  a  legal  prosecution  of  the  priest 
for  theft  and  slander ;  but  the  milder  counsel  of  Jesus'  precepts 
and  example  prevailed,  and  he  tried  to  forgive,  but  could  not 
forget,  those  who  knowingly  and  wilfully  sent  lies  endorsed  by 
themselves  over  all  the  country  where  he  was  known.  But  all  this 
time  a  hidden  blessing  was  lurking  in  the  brambles  and  thorns 
that  entangled  and  obstructed  his  pathway,  —  a  fragrant  rose  for 
his  spirit,  that  would  shed  its  delights  on  his  soul  for  ages ;  for 
by  these  slanders  he  was  led  to  examine  more  closely  and 
minutely  the  family  relations  and  conditions  of  society  and  the 
sexes,  and  to  acquire  knowledge  which  caused  him  ever  after  to 
speak  and  write  more  boldly  and  pointedly  on  the  sins  of  domes- 
tic life ;  and  this  separated  some  from  him  who  had  stood  by  him, 
to  this  time,  but  now  he  touched  their  idols  also,  and  they  left 
him,  and  angels  came  and  ministered  unto  him ;  and  when  they 
passed  by  on  the  other  side,  with  the  priest,  the  good  Samaritan 
came  with  the  oil  and  the  wine,  and  the  beast,  and  the  purse,  and 
his  wants  were  supplied.  He  was  let  into  a  higher  light  and  life 
by  the  angels,  as  he  saw  and  felt  more  clearly  the  terrible  evils  of 
this,  and  dared  to  speak  against  them.  But  boldly  he  uttered 


200  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

the  sentiment,  more  recently  so  beautifully  expressed  through  T. 
L.  Harris : 

"  The  man  is  ignorant  of  law  who  gives 
Being  to  offspring  cursed  before  their  birth 
With  passions  that  destroy  their  future  peace, 
And  make  the  stately  fabric  of  the  soul 
A  dungeon  of  impure  depravities. 

"  The  man  is  ignorant  of  law  who  takes 
A  forced  reluctant  wife  unto  his  breast  ; 
Whose  inward  soul  another's  spirit  claims, 
Whose  deepest  heart  expires  in  constant  pain, 
Dying,  and  walking  daily  to  new  deaths. 
0,  cursed  ignorance  !  that  educates 
Maidens  for  public  barter  ;  that  first  crowns 
With  orange-blooms  their  brows,  then  turns  the  key 
Of  wedlock,  falsely  called  so  by  divines, 
To  crush  them  in  its  infamous  Bastile, 
Making  the  marriage-bed  a  rack,  where  they 
Must  wed  themselves  —  poor  children  —  to  despair. 
As  to  an  iron  giant,  while  the  fire 

Of  madness  inundates  the  reeking  brain. 
****** 

Break  thou  that  spell  of  ignorance  that  makes 
Woman  the  slave  !     Redeem  her  captive  heart ! 
Let  marriage  be  the  sacrament  of  soul, 
The  deathless  union  of  accordant  minds, 
The  blending  of  two  perfect  lives  in  one, 
Whose  home  shall  be  a  paradise,  whose  bliss 
Chaste,  fervent,  lasting  as  an  angel's  love." 

Now,  more  than  ever  before,  he  felt  inspired  with  truth  from 
above,  and  felt  it  his  duty  to  scatter  the  seed  broadcast  over  as 
much  of  the  human  world  as  he  could  reach,  and  let  the  seeds  fall 
as  they  would,  in  stony  places,  among  thorns,  by  the  wayside,  or 
in  good  soil.  He  prepared  for  his  mission,  but  not  with  purse  or 
scrip,  or  two  coats,  nor  staff,  but  empty-handed,  and  with  empty 
pockets.  But  first  he  summed  up  and  published,  in  the  Oshkosh 
Democrat,  the  political  condition  and  progress  cf  the  stato,  in  an 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  201 

article  entitled  "  Signs  of  Progress ;  "  and,  having  an  excellent  and 
highly-esteemed  friend  connected  with  that  paper  in  C.  J.  Allen,  — 
a  young  man  of  noble  and  generous  but  timid  soul,  —  he  continued 
to  correspond  for  some  time  with  that  paper,  until  the  religious  op- 
position to  the  liberality  of  his  sentiments  induced  the  proprietors, 
greatly  to  their  injury,  to  request  of  him  more  respect  for  the 
churches ;  and  of  course  he  gave  them  all  the  respect  they  could 
get,  and  sent  his  articles  to  other  papers  ever  after. 

July  19.  —  Visits  and  examines  the  academy  at  Ripon, 
which  had  now  become  Presbyterian,  but  in  which  his  eldest  son 
and  the  daughter  were  among  the  best  students  —  prompt,  faithful, 
and  foremost  in  all  but  the  religion ;  that  they  would  not  take, 
and  were  excused  from  attendance  on  church,  but  not  on  prayers. 
However,  they  did  not  learn  to  pray  in  that  school. 

July  20.  —  He  set  out  on  foot,  and  walked  twelve  miles  to  the 
home  of  a  friend  on  the  prairie ;  met  several  mediums,  had  a  com- 
munication from  George,  and  one  from  his  mother,  through  a  medium 
who  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church.  Next  day  he  walked 
all  day  in  the  dust  and  extreme  heat,  and  reached  Dodge  Centre, 
where  he  expected  to  find  an  old  and  prominent  friend,  Hon.  H. 
Barber,  who  had  recently  discovered  some  of  the  truths  of 
spiritualism ;  but  the  judge  was  absent,  and  the  tired  man 
laid  up  at  the  tavern,  and  soon  went  to  the  land  of  dreams,  where 
the  spirits  refreshed  his  soul  with  an  oblivion  of  the  long  walk 
and  weary  body.  Next  night  the  stage  —  for  his  limbs  would  not 
walk  again  —  landed  him  at  Watertown,  where  he  found  an 
honest  and  industrious  mechanic  (a  Mr.  Straw),  whom  the  truth 
had  made  free  and  bold  ;  and  he  found  a  home  with  him,  while 
they  made  an  effort  to  get  up,  and  off,  several  lectures.  But  most 
of  the  people  who  felt  any  interest  in  another  life  had  taken 
stock  in  some  one  of  the  churches,  and  obtained  through-tickets 
of  them  for  themselves,  and  cared  little  about  others,  unless  to  add 
their  names  also  to  their  respective  churches,  and  therefore  the 
lectures  were  attended  only  by  a  few.  It  was  very  discouraging ; 
but  Mr.  Straw,  who  was  a  good  medium,  saw  and  marked  out 


202  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE  LONE   ONE. 

much  of  the  journey  and  its  success,  and  named  some  of  the  places 
which  the  speaker  would  visit  before  his  return  ;  and  it  all,  and 
much  more,  was  fulfilled.  He  was  also  designated  as  the  tran- 
quillizer, and  directed  to  magnetize  mediums,  and  circles  for  their 
development,  and  to  produce  in  them  a  calm  and  quiet  state  of 
mind. 

We  have  noted  these  little  incidents  about  the  home  of  the  Lone 
One  merely  to  show  the  condition  at  this  particular  time ;  but 
shall  no  longer  follow  the  winding  path,  but  leap  from  point  to 
point,  as  we  notice  a  few  of  the  more  important  events  in  his  diary 
and  travels. 

July  29.  —  Lectures  on  temperance  to  large  audience  at 
Lake  Mills;  found  much  interest  in  spiritualism;  good  circle, 
some  mediums,  much  excitement,  and  a  slight  tendency  to  insanity 
in  one  or  two  partially-developed  mediums,  owing  mainly  to  the 
distracted  minds  of  friends  and  enemies  around  them.  He  had 
already  learned  that  when  mediums  are  being  developed  rapidly 
there  should  always  be  the  most  quiet,  congenial,  and  sympathetic 
minds,  and  none  others,  around  them,  to  insure  success,  and  avoid 
insanity.  But  people  were  mostly  ignorant  of  this,  and  some 
even  glad  to  have  cases  of  insanity,  to  bring  reproach  on,  or  oppo- 
sition to,  the  cause. 

By  various  modes  of  travel,  much  of  which  was  on  foot,  he 
made  his  way  through  Janesville  and  Beloit ;  had  a  pleasant 
visit  at  Rockton,  and  brought  up  in  Rockford,  where  the  cause 
had  steadily  gained  strength  and  force  since  his  last  visit.  Dur- 
ing this  pleasant  and  profitable  —  spiritually  and  pecuniarily  — 
visit,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  Mrs.  Morrel,  of  Lawrence, 
Mass.,  who  had  been  raised  from  an  invalid  of  fifteen  years  to  a 
tolerable  degree  of  health  by  the  spirits  ;  and,  emancipated  from 
church  thraldom,  made  to  speak  many  able  and  eloquent  truths 
by  spirits  for  the  new  gospel,  which  she  continues  to  preach  at 
and  about  her  home,  "  to  this  day."  In  a  circle  with  a  few  in- 
quirers, with  her  for  a  medium,  a  clergyman  inquired  of  the 
spirit  the  use  and  importance  of  prayer ;  and  the  reply,  purporting 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  203 

to  ceme  from  Thomas  Paine,  was,  "  Prayer  in  your  .world  is  what 
staves  and  crutches  are.  It  is  for  the  lame  and  sick  ;  the  well  do 
not  need  it."  The  Lone  One  asked  the  priest  if  the  answer  was 
satisfactory,  and  he  said,  "  Yes ;  but  I  think  we  are  all  sick  and 
lame."  "  Perhaps  yon  Christians  are,"  was  the  reply,  and  the 
end  of  the  subject. 

Sunday,  Aug.  21.  —  Had  a  large  and  delightful  meeting  in  a 
grove  near  Elgin,  and  many  speakers,  both  in  and  out  of  trance, 
and  happy  time  for  all  present. 

Aug.  25.  —  Commenced  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  Quaker 
meeting-house,  at  Battle  Creek,  Michigan.  First  visit  to  that  place. 
Had  good  time  and  attention,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
noble  soul,  in  Rev.  J.  P.  Averill,  who  had  grown  out  of  his 
clerical  garment,  although  it  was  of  the  most  capacious,  or  uni- 
versal salvation,  pattern,  yet  it  was  too  cramping  for  him  to  feel 
free  in.  At  this  time  he  also  visited  the  Bedford  school,  and  the 
happy  home  of  Reynolds  Cornel,  and  the  earnest  and  devoted 
soul  of  his  son,  Hiram  Cornel,  who  had  already  sustained  a 
school  almost  entirely  at  his  own  expense,  for  some  years,  when 
sectarianism,  aristocracy,  and  bigotry,  could  neither  get  control  nor 
stop  it,  although  they  had  made  every  effort  to  do  so,  branding  it 
as  infidel,  because  the  students  were  not  taught  to  pray  and  read 
the  Bible.  The  Lone  One  was  much  pleased  with  these  people 
and  their  efforts  ;  but  did  not  at  this  time  think  of  making  it  his 
future  home,  and  went  on  his  way,  bidding  them  God  speed  and 
good-by. 

At  his  lectures  on  Sunday  there  appeared  an  old  Scotch  Pres- 
byterian clergyman,  of  the  bull-dog  look,  with  great  head  and 
body,  short,  thick  neck,  savage  countenance,  English  make  and 
manners,  and  took  up  the  war-club,  by  a  defence  of  the  Bible  and 
the  church  against  the  lectures  and  the  lecturer;  but  the  hearers 
said  that  he  got  badly  used  up,  and  was  ready  in  the  evening  to 
give  up  the  contest ;  but  the  lecturer  and  his  friends  would  not 
allow  it,  and  forced  him  to  try  to  speak  in  defence  of  himself  and 
his  former  positions,  but  it  was  only  a  broken  apology.  Next  day 


204  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

he  was  gone,  with  his  Bibles,  which  he  pretended  to  be  peddling  as 
an  agent.  It  was  afterwards  ascertained  that  he  had  been  sent  for 
because  he  was  a  savage  blackguard,  more  impudent  and  tyranni- 
cal than  any  clergyman  in  the  place ;  but  he  and  they  found  there 
were  "  blows  to  take,  as  well  as  blows  to  give,"  and  those  who  were 
in  glass  houses  were  not  the  ones  to  throw  stones. 

September  4.  —  Lectures  in  the  Melodeon,  in  Cleveland,  to 
good  audience.  He  had  spoken  before  in  this  hall,  when  on  his 
way  to,  and  returning  from,  the  National  Convention  at  Pittsburg, 
in  '52  ;  but  he  found  only  a  few  truly  devoted  souls  in  Cleveland 
at  these  early  times,  when  it  was  a  sacrifice  of  reputation  and 
character,  in  the  popular  circles  of  the  city,  to  defend  the  truth 
of  spirit  life  and  intercourse.  But  among  the  first  and  best  medi- 
ums he  found  in  Cleveland  was  a  Mrs.  P.  M.  Williamson  (now 
Mrs.  Price,  clairvoyant  physician,  &c.),  and  a  Miss  Jane  Barnum, 
of  Rockport.  She  being  an  old  acquaintance,  through  her  he 
received  the  most  encouraging,  cheering,  consoling,  and  sympa- 
thizing communication  he  had  ever  received,  and  which  proved 
true  in  due  time,  so  far  as  it  was  prophetic. 

"My  heart  is  proof  against  all  fear 

Of  what  may  chance  in  world  like  this  ; 
But  tender  words  and  looks  appear 
Like  spirits  from  the  realms  of  bliss. 

"  They  melt  the  heart  hate  cannot  move  ; 

They  thaw  the  ice  around  it  cast, 
And  purer  feelings  loosened  rove 
Amid  its  dreams  of  love  so  vast." 

September  7.  —  He  reached  the  Carroll  Springs,  on  the  Kyan- 
tone,  near  the  line  of  the  States  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York, 
and  found  Dr.  J.  Mayhew,  Dr.  A.  Underbill,  Dr.  Brown,  Cora 
L.  V.  Scott,  and  her  father  and  mother,  and  many  others,  congre- 
gated there,  for  some  cause,  as  yet  unknown  to  them,  as  to  him, 
or  others.  They  had  a  pleasant  visit,  and  several  good  circles ; 
he  lectured  several  times  in  the  vicinity  ;  drank  the  sacred  or  holy 
water  of  the  spring,  which,  for  a  time,  had  such  magic  effect  on 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  205 

mediums,  but  none  on  him.  In  a  few  days  bid  them  adieu,  and 
made  tracks  eastward,  but  not  until  he  had  written,  as  he  did  reg- 
ularly, all  that  was  interesting  in  his  travels.  Lectured  in  Laoni 
and  Fredonia,  N.  Y.,  and,  in  company  with  the  Scott  family, 
with  Cora  for  a  medium,  held  some  good  circles  for  communica- 
tions. They  visited  a  widow  in  Fredonia,  whose  husband  had 
died  a  spiritualist  in  Wisconsin,  and  learned  from  her  the  way 
she  silenced  her  Presbyterian  mother  and  deacon  brother,  on  the 
subject.  They  had  persuaded  her  to  return  and  reside  with  them 
in  their  ample  home,  and  hoped  to  bring  her  again  into  the  church- 
fold  of  creed  (not  Christ).  When  the  proper  time  arrived,  they 
asked  her,  mildly  and  pleasantly,  if  she  had  not  felt  it  best  to  give 
up  spiritualism,  and  return  to  the  church.  Her  reply  was, 
"  Mother,  you  know  I  loved  my  husband,  and  he  loved  me,  and 
we  love  each  other  still.  Where  he  has  gone,  there  I  wish  to  go, 
be  it  heaven  or  hell,  and  I  intend  to  live  so  as  to  accomplish  that 
end  ;  and  he  lived  and  died  a  spiritualist,  —  so  shall  I."  This  was 
a  clincher,  and  ended  that  subject  finally,  and  at  once.  He  also 
lectured  in  the  transit-town  of  Dunkirk;  but  a  cargo  of  live  hogs 
would  then  attract  more  people  in  Dunkirk  than  a  legion  of  invis- 
ible spirits,  however  much  evidence  you  could  give  of  their  exist- 
ence and  intelligence.  Two  or  three  families,  like  Lot's  in  Sodom, 
saved  the  place,  no  doubt,  from  going  into  the  lake,  or  down  the 
road  to  Gotham.  There  was  a  half-way  house  between  Dunkirk 
and  Fredonia,  which  had  a  Hall  in  it,  in  which  spiritualism  had 
done  a  work ;  and  a  voice  went  out  of  this  Hall  every  day  in 
defence  of  spirits,  and  their  rights  to  be  heard  in  our  world. 

His  next  station  was  in  West  Randolph,  N.  Y.,  where  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  that  devoted  soul,  and  almost  martyr  to 
spiritualism,  T.  S.  Sheldon,  and  several  other  good  friends,  and 
had  a  good  time  with  circles  and  lectures.  Here  he  made  the 
acquaintance  also  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Love, —  the  latter,  now  Mrs. 
Mary  F.  Davis,  —  and,  from  the  free  expression  of  his  views  on  mar- 
riage and  kindred  subjects,  he  soon  had  their  confidence,  and 
learned  from  them  that  they  were  legally  married,  but  in  no  other 
18 


206  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

sense ;  that  in  the  law  and  public  opinion  they  were  one,  and  in 
every  other  sense  and  respect  two.  That  they  were  only  waiting  a 
chance  to  get  a  legal  separation,  without  disgrace.  He  became  well 
acquainted,  at  this  and  a  subsequent  visit,  with  the  restless  and  ner- 
vous condition  of  Mr.  L.,  and  the  quiet,  beautiful,  genial,  and  har- 
monized soul  of  Mary,  with  a  heart  full  and  overflowing  with  love, 
but  which  could  only  flow  to  one  who  in  purity  and  devotion  could 
return  a  kindred  element,  which  Mr.  L.  could  not.  He  was  familiar 
with  the  trials  and  struggles  of  these  two  beings  for  freedom  from  a 
galling  bondage  into  which  they  had  unwisely,  but  voluntarily, 
entered,  for  which  society  would  not  forgive  them.  Her  anxiety 
at  this  time  was  wholly  for  Mr.  L.,  that  he  might  marry  the  lady 
of  his  second  choice ;  and  his  to  accomplish  it,  and  save  their  rep- 
utation, which,  in  New  York,  seemed  impossible;  and  hence  they 
were  advised  to  go  West,  where  the  laws  were  more  liberal.  The 
clouds,  with  deep  gloom  and  portentous  forebodings,  hung  heavily 
over  her  horizon  at  this  time ;  and  long  after,  she  could  see  only 
the  stigma  of  the  fashionable  and  popular,  and  no  avenue-  to  a 
home  or  a  living  business  in  this  world ;  and  she  looked  over  the 
Jordan,  and  longed  to  go  where  slander  and  scorn  could  not  reach 
one  who  never  did  anything  to  merit  it.  But  the  Lone  One 
encouraged  her  as  well  as  he  could,  and  urged  her  to  take  the 
field  as  a  lecturer,  and  trust  to  the  future,  and,  with  confiding  step, 
walk  boldly  to  the  struggle  with  the  wicked  laws,  confident  of 
purity,  worth,  and  right.  "  When  thou  art  sinking,  give  me  thy 
hand,"  said  the  Lone  One,  "  and  all  my  strength  shall  come  to 
thy  aid,  but  walk  in  faith."  It  was  interesting  to  the  Lone  One, 
some  years  after,  when  the  lying  slanders  of  pulpit  and  press 
accused  A.  J.  Davis  of  causing  all  this  trouble,  and  breaking  up 
this  family,  &c.,  —  when  he  knew  all  these  facts  and  conditions  to 
exist  while  Mr.  Davis  was  living  quietly  and  happily  with  his  first 
wife,  personally  unknown  to  Mrs.  L.,  and  having  never  heard  of 
her  or  her  legal  husband.  But  this  was  as  near  the  truth  as  they 
reported  in  his  own  case,  and  many  others ;  and,  as  truth  was  not 
their  object  when  preaching  or  writing  about  spiritualists,  of  course 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  207 

they  would  never  correct  their  falsehoods  when  pointed  out  to 
them.  If  there  was  ever  a  being  in  this  world  who  deserved  hap- 
piness, or  one  who  has  found  it,  it  is  this  same  Mary  F.  Davis ; 
and  certainly  there  is  one  soul  glad  for  her  "sunny-side  "  of  life. 
Had  a  "  season  of  prayer,"  and  poured  out  the  gospel  to  a  crowd 
in  Cuba  and  Rushford,  as  he  went  on  his  winding  way  to  Roches- 
ter, to  see  those  early  patriots,  Isaac,  and  Amy,  and  Charles,  and 
others. 

September  30.  —  Mingled  with  a  crowd  at  Syracuse,  and 
found  John  0.  Wattles,  Gerrit  Smith,  S.  J.  May,  Lucy  Stone, 
Antoinette  L.  Brown,  and  many  other  true  souls,  and  saw  and 
heard  them  speak  at  the  "  Jerry  Rescue  "  celebration  ;  also  Fred. 
Douglas,  whom  he  had  met  before,  but  whose  soul  could  not  admit 
the  light  of  spiritual  freedom,  as  it  had  of  political. 

Sunday,  October  2.  —  He  delivered  a  funeral  discourse  in  the 
City  Hall  of  Syracuse.  Strange  preacher  he  must  have  been,  who 
had  no  prayers  over  the  dead.  On  the  cars  he  met  a  friend  who 
invited  him  to  call  and  dine  at  Oneida,  with  the  Perfectionists ; 
and  he  did  so,  and  found  the  first  society  of  literal  and  practical 
Christians  he  had  ever  seen  ;  indeed,  he  did  not  believe  there  were 
any  Christians  who  tried  to  live  the  doctrine  and  precepts,  but 
here  he  found  a  society  who  had  abandoned  homes,  houses,  and 
lands,  making  all  things  common,  as  Jesus  and  the  disciples  did, 
and  even  fulfilling  the  command  to  leave  parents  and  children, 
husbands  and  wives,  brothers  and  sisters,  for  Christ's  sake,  and 
trying  to  live  and  realize  the  condition  of  heaven,  where  Jesus  said 
there  was  no  marrying  nor  giving  in  marriage.  So  they  had  none, 
but  live  as  the  disciples  and  angels  of  God  were  said  to  live.  It  was 
indeed  a  rich  treat  to  find,  in  this  land  of  pretenders,  a  society  of 
real  disciples,  who  try  to  practise  the  precepts  of  Christ ;  but  there 
they  were,  and  there  they  are,  with  word  and  deed  in  harmony, 
trying  to  live  so  as  to  bring  the  kingdom  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven,  which  so  many  have  asked  for  in  prayers,  but  never 
tried  to  practise.  But,  as  the  Lone  One  was  neither  a  Christian 
nor  a  defender  of  that  mode  of  life,  nor  a  believer  in  it  as  tho  life 


208  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

in  heaven,  or  proper  for  our  time,  and  as  he  did  not  believe  in 
abandoning  family  and  companions  for  anybody's  sake,  and  he 
believed  in  true  marriage,  both  here  and  in  heaven,  now  and  for- 
ever, as  the  best,  and  most  holy,  and  sacred,  and  happy  life  for 
man  and  spirit,  therefore,  of  course,  he  had  no  attraction  to  these 
Christians,  which  could  induce  him  to  cooperate  with  them.  But 
plainly  he  could  see  that  in  social  life  either  they  or  the  Shakers  were 
the  only  true  followers  of  Jesus,  and  his  example  and  precepts. 

Next  day  he  was  in  New  York  city,  and  for  many  succeeding 
days  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  on  duty  as  commissioner,  etc.  The 
note  in  the  diary  says :  Made  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  T.  L.  Nich- 
ols and  Mrs.  Mary  Grove  Nichols,  but  did  not  make  anything 
else  of  them.  The  sphere  of  Mrs.  N.  was  uncongenial,  and  his 
not  attractive ;  but  he  could  not  but  admire  and  respect  them  as 
bold  and  daring  souls,  who  dared  to  tell  society  of  its  false  and 
wicked  acts,  and  take  its  scorn  and  contempt  for  pay.  As  such 
he  viewed  them,  but  as  unharrnonized  souls  in  the  struggles  of  life, 
with  enemies  within  and  without  themselves ;  but  the  worst 
within,  and  the  chief  of  the  group  egotism,  as  it  appeared  to  him. 
Visited  the  North  American  Phalanx,  at  Red  Bank,  N.  Y. 
How  like  old  times,  and  how  like  a  home,  did  their  unitary 
table  seem  !  But  the  seeds  of  a  fatal  disease  were  there,  and  they 
died  soon  after,  and  the  mourners  were  numerous,  and  over  the 
whole  country ;  but,  like  most  mourners,  they  could  not  save  the 
life,  nor  resuscitate  the  corpse.  So  they  epitaphed  it;  but,  as  we 
do  not  intend  this  for  a  Bible,  nor  a  tomb-stone,  we  will  not  print 
the  epitaph  here.  For  the  first  time  he  now  met  that  noble  intel- 
lect, and  very  impressible  early  and  able  advocate,  Hon.  J.  W. 
Edmonds,  who  had  laid  up  his  worldly  fame  for  a  martyr's  crown, 
in  the  good  cause.  He  found  in  him  a  true  heart,  and  true  friend 
to  the  new  philosophy,  and  the  most  intellectual  and  influential 
advocate  he  had  met  with,  and  was  highly  pleased  with  his  visit 
to  his  home.  He  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  that  more  prac- 
tical and  matter-of-fact  man,  Charles  Partridge,  who  was  at  that 
time  pecuniarily  the  bulwark  of  printed  spiritualism  in  the  city,  and 


LIFE-LINE    OP   THE   LONE    ONE.  209 

also  the  brother,  who  had  adopted  somewhat  of  a  sliding  scale, 
but  whom  he,  in  the  days  of  the  Univercaslum,  had  ever  regis- 
tered as  number  one,  William,  —  Fishbough, —  he  told  this  brother 
he  believed  him  either  entangled  in  one  of  Swedenborg's  hells,  or 
one  of  Bunyan's  quagmires,  but  thought,  with  help,  he  might  be 
extricated,  but  not  until  he  let  go  his  hold  on  the  sacred  handle 
of  the  Idol-Bible.  He  also  spent  an  hour  at  breakfast  with  that 
great  man,  who  sprang  from  small  beginning,  who  is  by  those  who 
hate  him  called  the  "  fool  of  the  nineteenth  century,"  but  who  will 
prove  by  his  Tribune  that  he  is  "  nobody's  fool."  From  this  brief 
acquaintance  the  Lone  One  concluded  he  was  number  one  in  every- 
thing but  honesty,  and  no  doubt  had  once  been  so  in  that  quality, 
but  long  and  hard  service  in  politics  had  worn  it  below  threadbare, 
and  thus  it  became  leaky  to  other  subjects.  On  the  spiritual  phi- 
losophy he  evidently  had  one  foot  on  sea  and  one  on  land,  and  waa 
neither  fish  or  fowl ;  but  on  three  other  subjects  he  was  firm  as  a 
rock,  and  on  two  of  them  firm  in  the  wrong  side,  and  on  one,  in 
the  right —  slavery,  tariff,  and  marriage ;  but  on  the  latter  he  had 
been  very  much  jaded  by  James,  and  Andrews,  and  others,  and  was 
quite  sore  at  that  time.  He  also  met  many  other  distinguished 
persons,  and  among  them  one  he  had  long  desired  to  meet,  in 
S.  B.  Brittan.  In  him  he  found  talent,  refinement,  and  pride ;  the 
latter  an  obstacle  which  would  prevent  him  from  doing  for  human- 
ity what  his  uncommon  ability  would  allow  him  to  do  if  he  could 
meet  and  mingle,  heart  and  soul,  with  the  world,  as  Jesus  did,  and 
feel  its  heart-beat,  and  respond  to  it ;  but  well  the  World's  Child 
knew  that  a  continued  round  of  city  luxuries,  and  city  fashions 
and  follies,  had  hampered  and  somewhat  trammelled  the  noble  and 
ardent  soul,  which  was  set  like  a  diamond  in  this  brain,  and  often 
shone  with  great  brilliancy,  in  spite  of  the  rubbish  that  surrounded 
it.  He  admired  Mr.  Brittan,  but  he  loved  J.  K.  Ingalls ;  he  felt 
free  and  easy  in  the  dignity  and  manhood  of  J.  W.  Edmonds,  but 
restless  and  watchful  with  Greely,  as  if  it  was  not  safe  to  take 
his  eyes  off  him.  He  learned  much  in  this  visit  to  Gotham  to 
confirm  his  previous  opinions  of  the  relations  of  city  and  country. 
18* 


210  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

A.  few  minds  in  the  commercial  circles  control  the  cities,  and 
endeavor  to  control  the  country  also.  They  control  the  business  of 
the  merchants,  and  bankers,  and  politics,  and  religion,  of  the  rural 
districts,  and  regulate  them  by  rules  which  they  set  up  in  the  city. 
Some  persons  were  unwilling  that  spiritualism  should  be  an  excep- 
tion to  this  custom  of  our  country.  The  Lone  One  saw  this,  but 
felt  sure  there  was  a  disappointment  awaiting  all  who  could  set 
themselves  up,  with  or  without  an  organization,  as  the  pivots  or 
centres  for  this  movement.  He  left  the  city,  resolved  not  to  labor 
for  the  reputation  and  influence  of  any  person  or  persons,  but  for 
the  cause  of  the  Harmonial  Philosophy.  JNot  for  man-glory  or 
man-power,  but  for  humanity  and  the  race ;  and  although  nothing 
was  said  on  this  subject,  yet  some  persons  felt  and  saw  him  and 
his  object,  and  knew  he  would  not  aid  them  to  centralize,  nor 
labor  for  a  central  or  city  leadership ;  and  hence,  although  he 
was  one  of  the  first  lecturers  in  the  field,  and  up  to  the  autumn 
of  '57  had  given  more  lectures,  and  in  more  places,  than  any 
other  person,  on  the  subject  of  spirit-intercourse,  and  borne  much 
persecution,  made  great  pecuniary  and  personal  sacrifices,  yet  the 
city  papers  and  preachers  seldom  mentioned  him,  or  gave  notice 
of  his  labors,  unless  compelled  to  do  it  by  his  presence  in  the  city. 
But  this  was  what  he  wished,  if  his  opinions  were  correct,  that  an 
effort  at  central  control  and  leadership  was  made ;  for  he  could  nei- 
ther lead  nor  be  led,  but  paddled  his  own  canoe.  His  lone  and 
independent  mind  could  never  be  made  to  work  in  a  harness,  nor  for 
any  cause  but  that  of  God  and  man  combined,  so  far  as  he  knew  it. 
Oct.  13.  —  Stood  high  on  the  rock-cliff  at  Winstead,  Ct. 
Lectured  in  the  valley  to  large  audiences  of  free  minds.  Wrote 
a  brief  note  to  A.  J.  Davis,  at  Hartford,  to  notify  him  of  an 
intended  visit.  He  had  never  been  in  Hartford,  nor  met  Mr. 
Davis,  nor  Mrs.  Mettler,  and  Mr.  D.  had  some  curiosity  to  try  her 
psychometric  powers  on  the  stranger.  He  took  the  note  to  her, 
and,  without  any  knowledge  on  her  part,  whether  the  writer  was  a 
man,  woman  or  child,  mortal  or  spirit,  and  of  course  without 
seeing  a  word  of  its  contents,  she  said :  "  The  writer  of  thia 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  211 

is  a  person  whose  moral  and  intellectual  faculties  are  most 
perfectly  and  fully  developed.  He  is  given  to  much  thought. 
His  intuitive  or  spiritual  nature  is  always  his  guide  and  prompter. 
He  possesses  much  acquired  knowledge  and  true  wisdom ;  vene- 
rates goodness  and  truth,  let  it  proceed  from  what  source  it  may. 
He  is  a  true  philosopher  and  philanthropist ;  has  a  mind  that  will 
conquer  all  evil  by  its  kind  and  suasive  manner.  He  is  benevo- 
lent and  kind,  and  his  feelings  universal.  He  cannot  be  sectarian, 
neither  can  he  bear  the  shackles  of  sectarianism  or  tyranny. 
Freedom  of  speech  and  action  is  his  motto.  He  is  unmoved  when 
the  mind  is  once  established.  Has  many  original  ideas,  which  are 
easily  and  happily  expressed,  and  by  that  expression  he  is  enabled 
to  do  much  good  to  his  fellow-beings.  He  is  actuated  in  what  he 
says  and  does  by  principle,  and  a  great  love  for  truth.  Firm  and 
steadfast,  whatever  is  undertaken  by  him  will  be  carried  through 
with  much  energy  and  determination.  He  can  exercise  much 
self-control  —  endeavors  to  subdue  the  lower  faculties,  and  bring 
them  into  subjection  to  the  higher  ones.  He  loves  that  kind  of 
mirth  and  enjoyment  that  will  harmonize  and  happify  the  soul. 
Is  constant  and  ardent  in  his  attachments,  seeking  ever  to  pro- 
mote the  happiness  of  all  who  surround  him.  He  is  cautious,  but 
not  timid.  Deeply  conscientious,  and  fond  of  the  good  opinions 
of  men ;  he  has  considerable  self-esteem,  sufficient  to  give  him  a 
feeling  of  independence  and  self-control.  He  is  himself — what 
nature  intended  he  should  be.  He  is  exceedingly  fond  of  family 
and  friends ;  is  constant  and  enduring  under  all  trials  of  life.  He 
is  exceedingly  fond  of  children,  and  pets,  and  everything  beautiful 
in  nature, —  loves  the  wild-woods  and  their  enchanting  murmur, — 
loves  woman  for  her  virtues  and  intelligence.  His  principles  are 
good,  and  his  impulses  truthful.  His  perceptive  faculties  are 
active,  but  the  moral  and  spiritual  nature  predominates.  He  must 
be  a  person  whose  life  is  devoted  to  reforms,  as  his  great  motive 
seems  to  be  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  human  race.  1  am 
quite  sure  he  is  a  public  speaker,  and  the  ideas  he  would  advance 
would  be  clear  and  lucid.  His  sphere  is  pleasing  and  agreeable  " 


212  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

Among  the  many  tests  of  psychometry,  given  through  Mrs.  Mettler, 
there  are  very  few  mistakes;  and,  indeed,  it  is  yet  to  be  ascertained 
there  is  one  to  be  found  among  the  hundreds  of  published  cases. 
With  suitable  conditions,  this  art  is  fully  reliable,  and  will  in  a  few 
years  be,  with  phrenology,  the  true  guide  to  every  person's  true 
character,  and  enable  us  to  put  our  trust  ever  in  worthy  persons, 
and  avoid  the  unworthy  and  deceitful. 

Oct.  19.  —  In  Hartford,  and  welcomed  at  the  magnificent  home 
of  Mr.  Brown,  and  soon  find  the  home  and  hearts  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mettler,  and  witness  her  remarkable  powers  of  describing  diseases, 
and  prescribing  for  them ;  the  most  remarkable  he  had  ever  seen, 
as  she  was  the  most  perfect  medium  for  this  faculty  he  had  ever 
met.  He  now  also  met  for  the  first  time  A.  J.  Davis,  and  found 
in  him  the  happiest  person  he  had  ever  found  in  this  world. 
Although  he  was  watching  constantly  by  the  couch  of  his  dying 
companion,  yet  the  sunshine  of  a  harmonial  and  natural  life  was 
ever  upon  and  filling  his  whole  being.  Without  egotism  or  selfish- 
ness, he  seemed  to  the  Lone  One,  who  had  seen  so  much  of  human 
life,  and  been  so  long  a  student  of  nature,  to  be  the  first  man  he 
had  ever  met  who  had  never  been  warped  or  twisted  from  a  natu- 
ral growth  'by  the  strife  and  conflicts  of  society.  He  took  courage 
now,  for,  with  one  true  man  in  the  world,  he  felt  sure  there  was 
hope  for  the  race.  He  was  more  strongly  drawn  to  this  man  than 
ever  to  any  one  before,  and  felt  his  heart  beat  more  in  unison  than 
with  any  other ;  for  he  seemed  to  be  wholly  and  fully  devoted  to  the 
welfare  of  the  race,  and  the  cause  of  truth.  He  did  not  accept  all  of 
the  philosophy  that  had  been  given  the  world  through  him  ;  yet  he 
accepted  the  man,  and  ever  after  loved  him  as  a  brother  —  in  spirit 
—  not  in  the  flesh,  for  in  the  flesh  he  was  not  allowed  to  have  a 
brother  by  the  laws  of  his  native  state.  A  childlike  honesty  and 
playfulness,  with  the  wit  and  acumen  of  well-disciplined  minds, 
was  about  Mr.  D.'s  manners ;  the  schoolboy  and  philosopher  blended, 
the  affections  of  a  woman  with  the  firmness  of  a  stoic.  One  would 
hardly  believe  these  extremes  of  character  could  blend,  and  yet 
they  do  and  must  in  a  true  man. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  213 

As  the  history  of  this  seer  has  recently  been  published  in  the 
" Magic  Staff"  those  who  desire  can  read  it  there;  and  we  will 
not  comment  more  upon  him,  except  to  say  that  his  companion 
passed  to  the  other  kingdom  a  few  days  after  this  interview,  and 
left  him  leaning  on  his  Magic  Staff,  gazing  at  the  stars,  and  talk- 
ing to  the  earth,  until  the  voice  of  his  second  companion  —  the 
suffering  victim  of  an  unhappy  marriage,  before  alluded  to  — 
reached  him,  and  called  him  again  to  social  and  domestic  life  and 
relations.  He  was  always  happy,  in  sunshine  or  shade ;  for  the 
angels  watched  over  him,  and  he  was  their  messenger.  Among 
the  interesting  curiosities  visited  in  Hartford  was  the  Charter  Oak, 
under  the  branches  of  which  he  was  sheltered  from  a  passing 
shower.  And  the  sewing-silk  manufactory  of  the  Cheeney  Brothers, 
at  Manchester,  where  the  sunshine  of  the  Harmonial  Philosophy 
had  placed  their  establishment  far  in  advance  of  others,  where  the 
old  theology  bears  rule  or  ruin.  His  lectures  were  well  attended 
in  Hartford,  and  his  visit  made  pleasant  and  agreeable. 

Oct.  31.  — In  Boston  for  the  first  time  since  he  moved  to  the 
West.  Soon  at  the  house  of  John  M.  Spear,  that  most  singular, 
highly  eccentric,  and  devotedly  honest  and  philanthropic,  of  all 
mediums.  The  Lone  One  was  greatly  pleased  with,  and  strongly 
attracted  to,  this  man,  and  received  through  him  the  singular  title 
of  the  "  Elementizer,"  and  a  commission  to  do  great  things  if  he 
could,  mentally  and  experimentally,  with  the  elements.  At  this 
time  some  intelligence  was  directing,  through  this  willing  instru- 
ment, the  erection  of  a  peculiar  machine  in  High  Rock  Tower, 
at  the  home  of  the  Hutchinsons,  in  Lynn ;  and  the  Lone  One 
was  invited,  or  directed,  to  lend  magnetic  aid  to  the  medium, 
and  the  machine,  etc.  For  a  few  days  he  watched  the  process 
and  progress  of  this  intelligence.  Fully  satisfied  that  it  was  in- 
dependent, in  its  existence  and  designs,  of  Mr.  Spear,  or  any  other 
person  ;  but  he  did  not  believe  it  a  safe  intelligence  to  direct  the 
business  affairs  of  this  world,  and  yet  he  thought  it  possible  that 
some  discovery  might  be  brought  to  light  by  such  power,  through 
the  agency  of  mediums.  The  machine  was  at  length  completed  at 


214  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

great  expense  to  somebody,  and,  as  it  did  not  start  a  perpetual 
motion,  it  was  condemned  by  the  edict  of  public  opinion,  and  a 
writ  of  scorn  and  contempt  sent  after  it.  The  parents  took  it  up 
and  fled  into  Egypt  with  it,  and  it  still  sojourns  there,  while  the 
parents  have  returned  to  build  other  and  very  different  machines, 
some  more,  and  some  equally  successful.  The  second  day  of  his 
sojourn  he  was  in  the  pinnacle  of  High  Rock  Tower,  with  J.  M. 
Spear  and  Mr.  Hewet,  and  one  more,  when  some  intelligence 
entranced  Mr.  Spear,  and  directed  Mr.  H.  to  "  write  what  the 
spirit  saith  to  the  wanderer."  It  then  proceeded  to  describe  the 
World's  Child  as  follows :  "This  man  possesses,  in  an  eminent 
degree,  several  very  important  elements  of  character,  which,  when 
combined,  help  to  the  formation  of  a  very  remarkable  person. 
First,  This  man  is  not  what  he  is  thought  to  be.  Quite  erroneous 
judgments  have  been  formed  of  him,  insomuch  that  he  has  been 
strongly  condemned  where  he  should  have  been  highly  approved. 
He  is  thought  to  have  a  disregard  for  sacred  things  ;  but  this  is 
not  true.  He  very  highly  regards  sacred  things ;  but  things 
which  some  regard  sacred  do  not  appear  to  his  mind  to  be 
sacred.  For  instance,  men  and  women  regard  the  Bible  as  a 
book  sacred  ;  but  this  man  does  not  so  esteem  the  book.  But  he 
opens  it  and  examines  critically  its  interiors,  and  perceives  the 
sacreds  which  are  in  the  interiors.  As  it  were,  he  does  not 
regard  the  outer  covering  of  the  nut,  but  picks,  and  picks,  and 
picks,  until  he  extracts  meats  from  the  outer  covering ;  so  he  ex- 
tracts the  meats  from  the  book,  and  they  are  sacred  to  him.  But 
he  does  not  much  care  about  the  outside,  if  he  can  get  the  sacreds 
of  the  book.  Second,  This  man  does  not  seem  to  care  to  talk 
much  about  God.  He  does  not  much  care  whether  there  is  a  God 
or  not ;  but  he  sees  certain  laws  by  which  he  discovers  the  uni- 
verse is  controlled.  He  hears  the  music  which  they  make,  and  is 
enraptured  with  the  music;  but  he  does  not  concern  himself 
much  about  the  maker.  Pie  is  very  peculiar  in  this  respect. 
Third,  If  there  is  any  one  thing  which  this  man  abhors  more  than 
any  other,  it  is  dissimulation.  He  is  a  very  rare  specimen  of 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  215 

honest  speech.  He  does  not  much  care  whether  he  is  liked  or 
disliked  for  this.  Tell  him  he  must  not  say  a  thing,  and  he 
replies,  '  Who  are  you  ?  '  and  he  will  say  it  all  the  stronger.  This 
man  is  a  thorough  student,  and  that  which  he  most  studies  is 
mind.  He  examines  persons,  and  forms  correct  opinions  of 
minds.  He  reads  minds  with  great  accuracy,  and  he  does  this  by 
greatly  unfolded  intuitive  faculties.  Ordinarily  he  would  not  be 
considered  a  student ;  but  he  is  a  perpetual  student  of  mind.  This 
man  calls  forth  large  quantities  of  respect,  because  of  strictest  in- 
tegrity. He  never  stoops  to  conquer  ;  but  he  conquers  because  he 
refuses  to  stoop.  Give  him  ample  time,  and  he  will  entirely 
silence  all  opposers.  He  is  a  most  adroit  manager  in  the  polem 
ics.  He  plants  himself  on  certain  fixed  principles,  and  no  one 
can  move  him ;  and  this  is  the  secret  of  his  polemical  success. 
This  man  is  also  a  great  admirer  of  the  beautiful  as  exhibited  in 
laws.  In  a  high  sense,  he  is  a  student  of  law.  While  he  is  cele- 
brated as  a  polemic,  yet  he  knows  not  of  bitterness.  With 
greatest  delight,  when  he  had  overcome  his  opponent,  he  would 
feed,  clothe,  and  instruct  him.  This  man  has  an  important  mis- 
sion to  perform,  and  that  mission  he  will  faithfully  perform  to  the 
utmost  of  his  ability." 

This  quaint  delineation  was  one  of  many  which  the  intelligences 
had  given  through  Mr.  Spear,  and  in  which  they  usually  were 
more  correct  than  in  mechanical  constructions.  While  he  was 
confined  in  his  mediumship  to  healing,  and  reading  character,  and 
giving  personal  communications,  he  was  very  accurate  and  useful ; 
but  in  his  more  recent  labors  he  is  not  appreciated  by  many,  if 
he  is  really  in  a  useful  work. 

Among  the  acquaintances  of  this  visit  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Newton,  two  as  genial  and  true  souls  as  God  had  standing  in 
cases  in  Boston;  and  Messrs.  Seaver  and  Mendum,  of  the  Investi- 
gator, which  had,  for  so  many  years,  furnished  the  religious 
dessert  for  his  family  reading.  Met  Mr.  T.  S.  Sheldon  at  Mr. 
Spear's.  Sleeping  one  night  in  the  same  room  with  Mr.  Sheldon, 
he  saw,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  a  spirit  bending  over  the  bed, 


216  LIFE-LINE   OP  THE   LONE   ONE. 

looking  apparently  at  Mr.  S.  He  carefully  viewed  the  beautiful 
form,  enraptured  with  the  vision ;  and,  on  describing  the  form  to 
Mr.  Sheldon  in  the  morning,  he  recognized  his  deceased  wife,  who 
often  communicated  to  him.  He  was  neither  asleep  nor  in  a 
trance,  but  saw,  as  he  thought  at  the  time,  the  light  form  in  the 
dark  room  with  his  eyes.  John  S.  Adams  and  Hattie  were  also 
among  the  good  and  true  spirit-friends  he  found  on  this  visit,  and 
several  others ;  but  we  must  pass  on  to  the  end  of  the  line.  His 
lectures  were  well  attended,  and  he  was  richly  paid  in  the  cur- 
rency of  heaven  for  this  protracted  visit.  For  many  years  he 
had  desired  to  speak  in  the  Melodeon  of  Boston,  so  long  and  so 
favorably  known  as  the  "  stamping-ground "  of  reformers ;  and 
now  the  obtained  wish  gave  little  satisfaction,  but  the  subject 
gave  much.  Mrs.  Newton  exceeded  all  vision-mediums  he  had 
ever  met,  and  through  her  he  received  many  of  the  most  rich  and 
highly-pleasing  pictures  of  the  future  of  himself  and  others,  and 
of  scenes  in  the  hereafter  of  both  spheres ;  but  it  was  not  always 
certain  to  which  life  they  belonged. 

Nov.  14.  —  He  was  at  Manchester,  N.  H.,  and  called  on  the  fam- 
ily of  Hon.  M.  Norris,  who  furnished  the  last  home  he  ever  enjoyed 
in  New  Hampshire  before  his  emigration  ;  but  Mr.  Norris  was  not 
at  home,  and  Abby  and  her  pets  had  all  grown  out  of  their  early  life 
and  condition  by  the  long  line  of  democratic  honors  Mr.  N.  had  re- 
ceived at  Washington.  For  many  years  he  had  been  compelled  to 
condemn  much  of  the  political  course  of  his  old  friend,  and  by  that 
means  had  grown  nearly  out  of  their  friendship  ;  but  he  was  glad 
to  meet  the  little  woman  he  had  once  known  so  well,  and  esteemed 
so  highly.  She  was  now  the  mother  of  a  long  line  of  children, 
and  some  in  each  sphere ;  but  the  dead  ones  were  dead  to  her 
faculties,  as  was  her  husband  also  soon  after.  Returned  to  Bos- 
ton, and  doubled  the  visit  over,  and  the  last  was  better  than  the 
first.  Hopedale,  with  a  call  on  Rev.  Adin  Ballou,  a  pure  soul, 
devoted  to  social  reform  and  Christ,  through  the  Bible ;  one  of 
the  best  of  men  in  all  but  his  theology,  and  that  is  the  mildest  and 
best  that  the  Bible,  without,  or  placed  above  nature,  can  furnish. 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  217 

He  goes  as  far  as  the  creed  he  has  set  up  will  allow,  but  dare  not 
step  one  point  over.  He  is  not  like  a  convict,  with  ball  and 
chain,  but  like  a  martyr,  tied  to  a  stake,  from  which  he  cannot 
escape  ;  and  yet  his  honest  heart  is  devoted,  and  would  raise  man 
to  a  far  better  and  higher  condition,  if  it  could,  than  other  sects 
will  allow.  His  social  efforts  will,  no  doubt,  die  out  soon  after  he 
docs,  as  did  those  of  Rapp. 

Nov.  26.  —  In  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  found  a  home  with  the 
"  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Spiritualists,"  and  in  some  respects  found 
him  rightly  named.  Had  the  most  remarkable  circle  for  per- 
formances on  piano  at  Mr.  Bangs',  in  which  the  instrument  was 
believed  by  all  present  to  be  played  without  human  hands,  and 
often  lifted  from  the  floor,  and  the  strings  thrummed,  etc. ;  but 
the  room  was  dark,  and  of  course  they  could  not  see  what  power 
did  do  it,  but  all  believed  it  was  spirits. 

After  doubling  his  visit  at  Hartford,  also,  December  2d  he 
brought  up  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  where  he  met  the  most  remarkable 
medium,  of  his  kind,  he  had  ever  met,  in  P.  B.  Randolph.  His 
peculiarity  consisted  in  his  being,  when  well  controlled,  the  best 
and  most  profound  speaker  and  reasoner  he  had  ever  met  in  his 
life,  normal  or  abnormal,  and  when  not  controlled  he  was  simple 
and  rude.  But  he  had  a  good-shaped  and  large  brain,  and  of 
peculiar  texture,  but  it  was  uncultivated.  He  also  met  here  many 
new  friends,  among  them  one  of  the  finest  and  most  delicate  and 
sensitive  souls  in  a  modest  and  diffident  female,  with  a  weak  body 
and  excellent  mind,  in  Melinda  Ball ;  a  person  who,  with  proper 
conditions,  might  be  an  ornament  to  the  race,  as  she  now  is  to  her 
little  circle.  For  some  years  he  corresponded  with  her,  to  bring 
out  her  soul,  and  it  unfolded  like  a  rose  in  the  sun  and  showers 
of  June. 

Her  beautiful  letters,  and  especially  the  poems,  —  several  of 
which  were  published, —  he  still  retains,  as  mementoes  of  a  friend- 
ship that  will  be  renewed  in  the  life  to  come.  He  also  had  another 
battle  and  complete  triumph  over  another  Scotch  Presbyterian 
priest  at  this  place  ;  and  so  completely  conquered  him  as  to  get 
19 


218  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

an  invitation  to  his  house.  Had  a  circle  in  the  house  of  a  Meth- 
odist priest,  and  good  manifestations.  Had  a  double  hold  on 
Troy  —  lengthened  visit.  Lectured  at  Ballston  Spa  and  Can- 
astota.  At  the  latter  place  used  a  church,  with  preacher  in 
attendance,  etc.  Next  in  the  City  Hall  in  Syracuse,  but  had 
small  audience  and  cold  time ;  which  was  more  than  made  up  at 
LeRoy,  where  he  met  the  best  of  friends,  and  received  the  most 
pay  he  had  received  at  any  one  place  since  he  was  in  the  field, 
which  assisted  to  make  up  for  the  many  small  fees,  and  no  fees,  etc. 
Somehow,  he  got  over  the  road  to  Cuba,  Alleghany  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and 
there,  in  the  night,  the  year  1853  died  and  was  buried,  and  the 
successor  was  born  there  the  same  night ;  but  he  did  not  see  it 
born,  for  he  was  in  the  land  of  dreams,  not  being  a  Methodist 
watcher. 

SECTION  II. 

1854. ITINERATING,  AND   PREACHING   THE   GOSPEL   OF   LOVE   AND 

ETERNAL    LIFE. 

"  There  is  a  secret  tie  that  binds 

Congenial  minds  together  ; 
A  silent  mingling  heart  with  heart, 
Almost  unknown  to  either. 

"  And  this  sweet  influence  may  be  felt 

When  not  a  word  is  spoken, 
And  to  the  outward  sense  there  seems 
To  be  no  sign  or  token. 

"  Yes,  those  who  ne'er  had  met  before 

May  meet  and  then  be  parted, 
And,  though  no  words  may  pass  between, 
Feel  they  are  kindred-hearted. 

"  And  when  such  spirits  meet  and  join 

In  converse  with  each  other, 
How  free  the  interchange  of  thought !  — 
No  feelings  there  to  smother. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE    ONE.  219 

"  It  is  not  fashion's  formal  chat, 
The  inmost  soul  congealing  ; 
But  the  free,  unbridled  tongue 
O'erflows  the  fount  of  feeling. 

"  And  though  they  part  and  sever  wide, 

As  to  an  outward  union, 
Still  they  may  often  know  and  feel 
A  near  and  sweet  communion. 

"  They  meet  not  with  the  bow  and  nod, 

A  cold  and  formal  meeting  ; 
But  't  is  with  open  heart  and  hand, 
A  true  and  friendly  greeting. 

"  0,  give  to  me  a  few  such  friends, 

Who  are  with  life  contented, 
And,  free  from  Custom's  heartless  forms, 
Our  souls  shall  be  cemented. 

"  I  care  not  whether  rich  or  poor, 

Of  high  estate  or  lowly, 
If  pure  in  heart  and  noble  minds, 
Of  purpose  high  and  holy." 

New  Year's  day  was  cold  and  stormy,  and  at  six  in  the  morning 
the  lecturer  was  in  a  sleigh  with  a  friend,  and  they  rode  fourteen 
miles  in  the  Alleghany  winter,  and,  almost  frozen,  reached  the 
warm  fire  of  Mr.  Houser,  and  the  warm  heart  of  Mrs.  Houser,  at 
Rushford,  N.  Y.,  and  in  good  time  the  comfortable  church  was 
also  warmed,  and  sounded  with  the  new  gospel-song.  Mrs.  H., 
with  "  Bloomer  costume,"  bold  and  free,  and  with  mind  well  stored, 
and  intellect  and  affections  well  developed,  was  deaconed  for  that 
town ;  and  the  wanderer  returned  with  his  friend  to  the  Cuba 
home,  where  they  were  rejoicing  yet,  over  the  birth  of  the  new 
year,  and  joined  in  the  glee  of  Cora,  Minna,  Hattie,  Dr.  Brown, 
and  others,  till  "  New  Year's  "  glided  into  the  busy  hum  of  ordi- 
nary life.  Next  day  found  the  doctor  and  the  three  girls  at  La- 
oni,  and  the  lecturer  at  Randolph,  where  again  he  met  his  friend 


220  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

Sheldon,  and  the  two  unhappy  and  unluckily-mated  Loves,  and  to 
them  renewed  his  advice  to  go  West,  and  part  where  the  laws  were 
more  liberal.  Mary  had  already  begun  to  lecture  on  woman's 
rights  and  wrongs,  and  had  good  success ;  and  on  Sunday,  June 
8th,  he  spoke  twice,  and  she  in  the  evening,  in  the  hall,  to  good 
audiences,  and  they  seemed  to  be  well  appreciated.  But  very  few 
then  knew  the  condition  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.,  for  they  treated  each 
other  as  brother  and  sister  ought  to  do  in  public  and  private  life ; 
and  this  was  so  much  more  tender  and  affectionate  than  husbands 
and  wives  usually  appear,  that  people  often  remarked,  "  How 
happy  and  loving  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.  are  ! "  "  What  a  happy 
couple  !  "  etc. ;  because  they  were  free  in  all  but  the  legal  bondage, 
and  seeking  the  means  to  break  that. 

Monday  morning  Mr.  L.  handed  her,  with  a  parting  kiss,  into 
the  full  coach,  where  she  found  a  seat  by  the  side  of  the  Lone 
One,  and  rode  to  Little  Valley  to  meet  her  appointment ;  and  he 
passed  on  to  Cattaraugus  to  meet  his,  and  this  was  the  last  time  he 
ever  saw  Mr.  L.,  or  met  her  as  Mrs.  L.  Soon  after  they  repaired 
to  Ohio,  and  parted,  never  more  to  meet  except  as  acquaintances ; 
for  the  law  of  Indiana  decided,  through  its  court,  that  she  ought 
and  should  be  a  free  woman,  until  she  should  again  voluntarily 
bind  herself.  There  was  one  other  case  among  his  friends,  —  on 
some  accounts  a  far  more  trying  one  than  this,  —  in  Mrs.  H.  F. 
M.  B.,  of  Cleveland  ;  but  in  that  he  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to 
advise,  because  the  parties  were  not  agreed,  and  did  not  mutually 
consult  him.  At  last  that  chain  broke  of  its  own  accord,  and  let 
one  of  the  noblest  souls  out  of  a  social  dungeon,  to  shine  on  soci- 
ety and  speak  of  an  experience  of  her  own,  and  become  a  "  Con- 
suelo  "  to  others  and  the  country  at  large.  His  line  of  march  soon 
brought  him  to  Dr.  Brown's,  where  were  the  three  girls,  Cora  rapidly 
developing  for  her  glorious  and  angelic  mission,  and  the  others  — 
an  aunt  and  cousin  —  with  her  for  company.  He  stayed  several 
days,  and  lectured  in  Laoni  and  Fredonia  ;  but  none  but  those  who 
have  seen  the  cesspools  of  gossip  in  commotion  can  believe  the 
extent  of  suspicion,  jealousy,  gossip,  slander,  and  falsehood,  which 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  221 

followed,  and  fell  from  the  tongues  of  "  priest  and  levite  "  on  Dr. 
B.,  and  also  on  the  lecturer,  because  he  occasionally  met  these 
and  other  female  mediums.  When  the  stolen  letter  story  was 
added  to  these,  such  was  the  jealousy  that  it  was  imprudent  for 
him  to  go  into  a  house  where  there  were  more  females  than  males, 
or  into  a  house  where  there  were  unmarried  ladies,  or  ladies  with- 
out their  husbands,  unless  there  were  other  men  present  to  guard 
them.  This  sensitiveness  even  affected  some  who  called  themselves 
spiritualists,  and  some  simpletons  were  afraid  their  wives  would 
leave  them  if  they  made  the  acquaintance  of  this  reformer,  when 
they  could  find  not  a  single  case  where  he  had  advised  a  separa- 
tion, except  where  it  was  mutually  called  for.  But  this  current  of 
slander  and  falsehood  did  not  affect  his  calm  and  happy  soul.  Hia 
life  and  his  home  were  happy,  and  he  moved  fearlessly  on  his  journey 
and  mission,  with  a  pure,  and  free,  and  happy  heart.  These  slan- 
ders often  gave  him  small  audiences,  when  he  should  have  had 
large  ones ;  and  thus  the  enemies  rejoiced,  and  felt  well  paid  for 
their  trouble.  To  these  and  many  other  girls  he  was  always  like 
a  father  and  guardian,  as  they  ever  did  and  ever  will  bear  testi- 
mony ;  and  now,  when  the  three  here  referred  to  are  all  married 
and  settled  in  life,  they  remember  and  esteem  him  as  the  best  of 
friends.  But  where  are  the  slanderers?  Only  hatching  some 
new  theme  for  gossip.  Many  a  beautiful  and  encouraging  message 
he  received  through  Cora  from  Mrs.  Hemans,  Frances  Wright, 
and  others,  on  the  occasions  of  these  meetings  with  her ;  and  his 
soul  was  thus  refreshed  and  watered  from  a  fountain  from  which 
few  could,  or  would,  drink. 

January  19.  —  The  girls  went  to  Buffalo,  where  other  friends 
were  prepared  to  receive  and  appreciate  them ;  for  Cora  had  al- 
ready done  much  in  that  city  to  awaken  in  a  few  families  the  spirit 
of  inquiry  after  spirit-life,  and  Stephen  Albo,  Stephen  Dudley, 
Capt.  Pratt,  and  others,  were  on  hand  to  find  homes  and  circles 
for  her.  The  lecturer  went  the  other  way,  and  brought  up  among 
the  pine  stumps  and  trees  of  Columbus,  Pa.,  where,  at  the  home 
19* 


222  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

of  Judge  Judson,  he  had  a  happy  visit,  and  soon  found  good  audi- 
ences in  the  church  to  listen  to  his  gospel. 

January  25.  —  He  returned  and  commenced  the  first  course  of 
lectures  in  Buffalo  ever  given  in  that  city  in  favor  of  the  new 
philosophy ;  and  had  a  good  attendance  in  Townsend  Hall,  not- 
withstanding the  celebrated  "  Buffalo  doctors  "  had  issued  their 
extinguisher  in  a  pamphlet  some  time  before,  but  which  finally 
extinguished  their  hopes  of  fame  in  all  coming  time.  Buffalo 
promised  what  she  finally  exhibited  by  the  unwearying  efforts  of 
S.  Dudley,  S.  Albo,  and  others  —  a  defence  and  support  of  the 
new  and  most  important  discovery  of  the  age.  During  this  visit 
lie  met  the  remarkable  medium,  Miss  Sarah  Brooks,  through  whom 
such  rich  musical  seances  have  since  been  given.  She  was  at  this 
time  just  beginning  to  reach  that  development,  and  the  guitar  and 
violin  could  be  sounded  slightly  through  her,  as  a  medium,  by 
spirit-power. 

February  1,  he  began  his  visit  and  lectures  in  Painesville, 
Ohio.  Had  a  good  time,  and  a  large  audience.  That  indefatiga- 
ble pioneer  and  defender  of  the  faith,  Joel  Tiffany,  had  labored 
much  in  that  place,  and  many  minds  had  received  light  and 
reached  freedom.  His  audiences  here,  as  elsewhere,  increased  in 
number  and  interest  to  the  end  of  the  course,  which  was  given 
Sunday  eve,  February  5  ;  soon  after  which,  he  was  again  with 
his  old  and  true  friends  in  Cleveland,  where  H.  F.  M.  B.  and 
many  others  always  welcomed  him  as  a  laborer  in  the  field  of 
reform,  on  the  side  of  human  rights,  and  as  one  ever  in  the  field, 
browned  by  the  sun  and  hardened  by  the  toil,  but  fanned  by 
breezes  from  the  spirit-world,  and  watered  by  the  Ganymedes 
with  the  nectar  of  heaven. 

At  Grafton  he  found  a  "  fallow  ground,"  and  broke  it  up,  and, 
for  a  wonder,  gave  a  course  of  lectures  in  an  Episcopal  church,  to 
large  audiences.  The  truth  he  planted  there  was  watered  Vy 
more  than  one  "  Apollos,"  and  has  never  ceased  to  grow,  although 
there  are  a  few  tares  among  the  wheat,  and  occasionally  a  defender 
of  the  existence  of  a  Devil  may  be  seen  there  ;  aW,  although  they 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  223 

have  several  churches,  yet  it  is  not  probable  they  can  collect  more 
than  one  bundle  of  tares,  at  the  harvest.  But  it  is  not  yet  sure 
whether  the  Methodist  or  Presbyterian  band  will  hold  them. 

His  next  station  was  Ravenna,  where  the  members  of  one 
church  had  been  converted  to  spiritualism,  and  of  course  carried 
their  church-house  (and  it  was  a  good  one)  with  them,  for  the  new 
gospel,  and  always  found  in  it  a  place  for  lecturers  and  preachers 
of  "  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  people."  Happy  hearts,  with 
listening  ears,  filled  the  church  on  Sunday,  and  he  was  happy  and 
"  filled  with  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."  Next  station  was 
Middlebury,  where  an  early  friend  of  him  and  the  cause,  and  a 
friend  and  admirer  of  Robert  Owen,  had  recently  moved  from 
Cleveland,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  voice  of  the  Lone  One. 
Next  station  called  was  New  Brighton,  Pa.,  where  the  true  man, 
Milo  Townsend,  and  his  happy  wife,  were  happy  to  welcome  the 
wanderers,  and  where  he  also  found  one  of  God's  kind  of  homes  at 
James  Irwin's,  where  six  daughters  made  the  woods  and  "  Alum 
Rocks "  resound  with  glee,  if  not  music.  But  the  parents  had 
quartered  with  the  Quakers  rather  too  long  to  give  much  music 
to  the  organizations  of  the  girls.  This  family  he  ever  remembered 
and  loved  as  among  the  happiest  and  best  of  his  friends ;  not  rich 
in  money,  but  rich  in  love  to  the  pure  and  good. 

About  these  days,  and  for  some  time  before,  Amelia  \Yelby  be- 
came a  devoted  friend  and  guardian  spirit,  and  often  visited  him 
from  her  home;  and  ever,  when  through  mediums  she  could  do  so, 
gave  him  words  of  heart-cheer,  more  sweet  and  affectionate  than 
those  of  her  beautiful  poems,  written  while  she  dwelt  in  her  body. 
Here  he  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  mother  and  brother 
and  sister-in-law  of  Grace  Greenwood,  and  found  in  them  devel- 
oped and  harmonized  souls,  fully  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  new 
gospel.  Elma,  the  eldest  of  the  Irwin  daughters,  he  had  met 
long  before  at  the  home  of  W.  S.  Courtney,  in  Pittsburg,  and 
found  her  then  with  a  soul  ripened  for  angel-visits,  and  a  medium- 
ehip  worthy  a  brighter  record  on  the  historic  page  than  it  found ; 
for,  soon  after,  the  marriage  tie  consigned  her  to  a  quiet  and  happy 


224  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

obscurity  and  life.  But  at  this  and  one  later  visit  she  was  at  the 
home  under  the  cliff  of  Alum  Rocks,  in  the  freedom  of  girlhood 
and  buoyancy  of  youth,  and  the  angels  could  use  her  and  one 
other  of  the  sisters  to  whisper  to  the  listening  ears  of  mortals. 

Next,  over  the  winding  way  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  only  a 
few  members  of  the  legislature  attended,  with  a  few  others,  his 
course  of  lectures,  which  closed  in  time  for  the  arrival  of  Judge 
Edmonds  and  Dr.  Dexter,  to  meet  their  appointment  for  two 
lectures  on  the  same  subject.  He  had  an  interesting  visit  with 
the  judge,  who,  for  a  social  chat  and  short  visit,  in  point  of 
interest  and  information  on  this  subject,  is  not  excelled  by  any 
medium  or  spiritualist  in  the  nation,  as  many  persons  can  testify. 

March  11.  —  In  Cincinnati,  lecturing  successfully.  Soon  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Caroline  Brown,  a  noble  and  true  woman,  if 
the  world  has  one,  who  was  struggling,  against  fearful  odds,  to 
establish  a  character,  reputation,  and  practice,  as  physician  and 
surgeon,  with  her  shingle  hung  out  on  the  street-side,  and  her 
diploma  in  her  office,  in  which  the  wise  faculty,  following  the  old 
Latin  form,  had  declared  she  was  a  true  man,  etc.  He  also  met 
the  blind  phrenologist,  F.  Bly,  whose  skilful  hand,  passed  scien- 
tifically over  his  head,  brought  the  expression  that  he  must 
make  a  mark  on  the  page  of  life  that  would  be  of  value  in  coming 
time,  if  not  in  his  day.  During  his  short  stay  he  became  a  warm 
and  devoted  friend  of  Caroline,  whose  bold  and  energetic  charac- 
ter, blended  with  a  most  affectionate  and  loving  heart,  and  a  pure 
and  noble  mind,  refined  and  developed  by  a  thorough  education 
and  discipline,  he  almost  worshipped  as  the  model  woman,  or 
what  he  had  ever  contended  woman  should  be ;  and  a  few  letters 
in  correspondence  subsequently  proved  all  he  had  believed  of  her. 
A  defect  in  the  nerves  of  her  eyes,  which  was  impairing  her  vision, 
seemed  to  yield  to  his  magnetism,  and  furnished  an  excuse  to  her 
excellent  female  partner,  who  did  not  need  one,  for  his  frequent 
calls  during  his  short  stay  in  the  city.  At  this  visit  he  made 
many  warm  friends,  and  parted  with  them  with  mutual  regrets 
and  hopes  of  future  meetings. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE  ONE.  225 

March  25.  —  Made  his  first  visit  to  Richmond,  Pa.,  where  he 
awakened  and  renewed  the  interest  in  the  new  gospel,  and  made 
Borne  warm  and  permanent  friends  for  himself  and  the  cause  ;  and 
this  subsequently  became  one  of  the  strongholds  of  the  Harmonial 
Philosophy.  .  Down  the  winding  channel  of  the  Ohio,  and  up  the 
Mississippi,  on  steamboat,  from  Cincinnati  to  St.  Louis,  was  not 
unpleasant,  but  the  reverse,  in  all  except  the  society  and  tobacco- 
stench,  which  on  the  river-boats  is  almost  unendurable  to  one 
who  has  a  body  not  saturated  with  the  poison  of  the  filthy 
weed. 

April  1.  —  Lands  in  St.  Louis,  and  homes  with  a  Mr.  Hedges, 
and  an  old  constitutional-convention  colleague  in  Judge  Hyer, 
whose  estimable  lady  was  a  medium.  Mr.  Hedges  was  one  of  the 
early  and  able  advocates  and  experimenters  in  magnetism  and 
spiritualism,  since,  extensively  known  as  a  business  man  of  Cincin- 
nati and  Philadelphia.  Met  R.  P.  Ambler,  the  developed  me- 
dium, and  interesting  and  intelligent  speaker,  and  an  early  editor 
of  the  Spirit  Messenger.  And  John  M.  Spear  had  been  sent  by 
spirit-direction  to  the  city,  to  ordain  Mr.  A.,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses supposed  by  him  to  be  of  more  importance.  Mrs.  E.  J. 
French  had  also  been  directed  there  by  spirits,  from  Pittsburg. 
Here  the  Lone  One  made  the  acquaintance  of  this  remarkable 
woman,  who  had  been  a  medium  many  years  in  the  Methodist 
church,  acceptable  to  them  while  she  called  it  the  power  of  God, 
or  the  "Holy  Ghost."  But  when  she  found  it  was  of  ghosts  who 
were  not  more  holy  than  other  human  beings,  and  told  the  truth 
about  it,  then  they  cast  her  out,  and  said  it  was  of  the  Devil.  Her 
healing  and  other  medium  powers  were  remarkable  and  peculiar, 
as  many  have  testified.  He  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  that 
public  and  highly  talented  defender  of  woman's,  and  human,  rights, 
Frances  D.  Gage,  and  registered  her  in  his  head  and  heart  as  one 
who  was  laboring  here,  for  the  reward  hereafter,  even  though  she 
had  some  doubts  of  that,  or  any  reward,  except  in  ner  conscious- 
ness of  doing  her  duty.  There  was  much  spiritua.  power  and 
influence  in  the  city  at  this  time,  and  the  cause  seemed  highly 


226  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

prosperous.  At  Alton  he  next  found  a  warm  reception,  and  gave 
several  lectures,  and  then  moved  over  the  road  to  the  prairie  vil- 
lage of  Bloomington,  and  quartered  with  an  ex-clergyman,  while 
he  used  a  church  to  lecture  in;  and,  April  28,  reported  progress 
at  his  old  friend's,  N.  E.  Dagget,  of  Elgin,  where  one  of  the  best 
of  families  was  always  as  glad  to  see  him  as  if  he  were  one  of 
the  household.  At  this  time  a  church  door  was  opened  for 
him,  and  he  preached  the  new  gospel  in  the  old  "  shop." 

May  1.  — Dr.  Haskell  was  reporting  his  progress  in  searching 
for  evidence,  to  the  Lone  One,  in  his  own  elegant  home  at  Rock- 
ford.  He  had  found  evidence  in  abundance,  and  his  heart  was 
full  to  overflowing.  Many  warm  friends,  in  this  beautiful  city, 
welcomed  him  with  heartfelt  expressions  that  did  his  soul  good; 
and  he  felt  that  he  was  valued,  and  determined,  with  renewed 
energy,  to  be  worthy  of  all  their  friendship.  A  delightful  visit 
with  the  three  sisters  at  Rockton,  and  the  parting  kiss  was  given 
to  the  prairie  wind  of  Illinois,  for  that  time.  And,  by  the  12th 
of  May,  he  had  reached  the  lake  at  his  old  Southport  station,  and 
stood  by  the  apple-tree  grave  of  his  boys'  bodies  on  the  sand- 
bank, amid  the  marble  and  granite  slabs,  which  told  both  lies  and 
truths  of  those  who  were  both  living  and  dead.  But  the  tree  told 
no  lies,  and  was  a  fit  emblem  of  the  living  boys,  whose  epitaph  it 
was.  Milwaukie  heard  his  voice  again,  as  he  passed  along  to 
his  valley  home,  where  he  arrived  on  the  19th,  after  an  absence  of 
ten  months,  during  which  time  not  one  week  had  failed  to  bring 
one  or  more  letters  to  his  family  from  him,  and,  in  small  sums, 
all  the  money  he  had  received,  except  that  used  for  his  expenses. 
Once  more  he  was  in  the  home  with  his  happy  family,  and  re- 
counting the  many  incidents  of  travel  to  the  wife  and  delighted 
children,  and  then  examining  their  progress,  which  was  not  slow. 

"  Welcome  home !  "  said  the  mate ;  "  for 

'  I  would  not  have  a  servile  throng 

Press  round  to  bow  the  knee, 
But  one  light,  free,  and  eager  step 
Haste  homeward  unto  me. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  227 

'  I  would  not  have  a  sumptuous  couch 

When  pain  had  laid  me  low, 
But  one  dear  arm  to  fold  my  form, 
One  hand  to  press  my  brow. 

'  I  would  not  have  proud  marble  piled 

Upon  my  lowly  head, 
But  simple  stone  and  grassy  mound, 
And  one  to  weep  me  dead. 

'  I  would,  beloved,  to  thee  and  me 

The  priceless  pearl  be  given, 
That  thy  true  heart  may  meet  mine  own, 
And  each  love  each,  in  heaven.'  " 

During  his  short  visit  at  home,  and  the  pleasant  excursion  of 
himself  and  wife  up  and  down  the  Neenah,  and  to  several  new 
towns  on  its  banks,  he  related  much  of  the  reception  he  had  met 
with  in  his  travels  ;  told  her  of  the  excellent  homes  to  which  he 
was  ever  made  a  welcome  guest,  —  of  the  warm  greetings,  the  love 
and  sympathy,  he  had  received  from  both  spheres ;  and  how  his 
soxil  was  overpaid  for  its  long,  dark  night  of  doubt,  coldness,  and 
death,  through  which  it  had  passed ;  and  how  gloriously  he  had 
triumphed  over  the  slanders  and  falsehoods  of  his  enemies,  leaving 
in  them  the  stings  of  guilty  consciences,  and  his  forgiveness  ;  how 
the  demand  for  his  services  increased,  and  the  bright  hopes  before 
him,  —  not  of  wealth,  but  of  a  happy  reward  in  the  life  to  come, 
and  the  love  of  kindred  beings  while  here.  These  renewed  her 
hope,  inspired  her  with  confidence,  and  cheered  her  on  her  way, 
which  was  now  rapidly  growing  light  and  pleasant.  He  lectured 
several  times  at  the  valley  hall,  to  audiences  composed  of  most  of 
the  decent,  intelligent,  and  respectable,  of  the  vicinity.  During 
these  travels,  and  especially  when  at  home,  he  wrote  much  for  the 
press,  and  on  various  subjects,  —  among  the  rest  a  criticism  on 
H.  C.  Wright's  and  T.  L.  Nichols'  works  on  marriage,  in  which 
he  did  not  wholly  endorse  either,  but  nearly  that  of  H.  C.  Wright. 
Writing  and  speaking  on  this  subject  freely,  and  not  endorsing  or 
sustaining  the  popular  errors  and  prejudices  on  one  side,  nor  en- 


223  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

dorsing  the  theories  on  the  other,  of  course  brought  him  directly 
between  the  armies,  where  each  shot  at  him,  and  tried  to  drive 
him  to  the  other  rank,  but  all  in  vain.  As  an  old  lady  aptly  re- 
marked, they  only  shot  him  ahead  in  the  path  of  right  and  duty, 
upward  and  outward,  alone.  Henry,  however,  and  his  friends, 
were  not  of  the  army  that  tried  to  hit  him  ;  for  they  knew  and 
appreciated  his  honesty,  and  his  nearness  to  their  teachings,  and 
so  did  many  individuals  and  personal  friends  of  both  armies ;  but 
the  officers  of  each  army  had  ordered  him  killed.  Still  he  was 
invulnerable. 

June  29.  —  He  delivered  the  funeral  discourse  of  Isaac  Lewis, 
an  elderly  and  esteemed  citizen  of  an  adjoining  town.  Thus  he 
was  installed  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  of  "  life  unto  life." 

July  4.  —  E.  Daniels  delivered  an  address,  and  the  Lone  One 
looked  on,  for  the  first  time  for  several  years,  without  feeling  or 
taking  a  part ;  for  he  had  now  separated  himself  entirely  from 
politics  and  popular  oratory,  and  become  only  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel  of  reform  and  the  future.  Having  visited  and  lectured  at, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of,  his  home  for  near  six  weeks,  on  the  7th  of 
July  (the  lucky  Friday)  he  started  again  for  a  long  journey  of 
indefinite  miles  and  months,  and  landed  first  night  in  a  circle  at 
Fond-du-lac.  On  Sunday  he  waked  up  the  sleepers  at  Sheboygan 
Falls,  and  started  a  commotion  that  soon  collected  the  means,  and 
built  a  free  church,  neat  and  capacious,  which  he  had  subsequently 
the  honor  of  first  making  a  speech  in,  before  it  was  finished.  Met 
again  the  kind  welcomes  of  his  friends  in  Milwaukie,  and  escaped 
the  curses  of  his  enemies,  and  passed  on  to  meet  other  good  souls 
at  Gcnesee  and  Palmyra ;  and,  on  the  15th,  parted  with  the  Pal- 
myra friends  in  Milwaukie,  and  closed  one  of  the  best  and  hap- 
piest visits  of  his  life  with  those  best  and  purest  of  friends,  the 
Higgins  family.  Stopped  at  most  stations  where  the  spirits  had  a 
station-house,  and  especially  at  Waukegan,  to  examine  that  re- 
markable medium,  Mrs.  Seymour,  who  writes  on  her  arm  in  raised 
letters,  without  touching  it,  and  writes  names,  and  other  tests  of 
individual  spirits,  in  that  way.  Made  the  acquaintance  of  the 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  229 

Baker  family,  —  singers,  —  and  of  Peter  Saxe,  the  better  brother 
of  the  poet.  Short  stay  in  Chicago ;  but  switched  at  Battle 
Creek  and  laid  over,  and  visited  again  the  Cornell  home,  and 
became  more  attached  and  interested  at  each  succeeding  visit. 
Did  not  yet  resolve  to  make  it  a  new  home.  Found  friends  at 
several  new  stations,  among  them  Bellevue,  Albion,  and  Jackson  ; 
and  brought  up  at  the  tavern-home  of  that  true  friend  of  both 
worlds,  N.  Stone,  of  Detroit. 

August  13.  —  In  Detroit  large  audiences  attended,  and  were 
pleased ;  but  subsequently  unfavorable  circumstances  and  incom- 
petent teachers  dampened  the  ardor  and  slackened  the  speed  here, 
as  in  many  other  places,  more  than  the  enemies  could.  A  terri- 
ble crash  and  rattling  of  broken  dishes  near  his  head,  on  the 
steamboat,  in  the  dark  night,  on  the  river,  started  him  next  from 
his  sleep.  He  soon  learned  that  a  vessel  had  run  her  bow-pole 
into  the  pantry,  and  waked  up  the  passengers,  some  with  screams 
and  fright,  or  prayers,  or  curses,  according  to  their  respective  re- 
ligious beliefs.  But  he  soon  "  bedded  down  "  again,  for  he  had 
paid  fare  to  Cleveland,  and  was  not  so  easily  to  be  cheated  out  of 
it ;  and  in  the  morning  he  stood  on  the  bank  in  the  Cleveland  city 
overlooking  the  lake  and  its  vessels,  calm  and  happy  as  a  sainted 
judge.  Had  an  excellent  visit  with  many  good  friends,  but  his 
lectures  did  not  call  large  audiences.  The  cause  lay  quiet  at  that 
time  in  the  public  mind.  He  was  constantly  learning  of  new  cases 
of  misery  and  suffering  from  unhappy  marriages ;  and  constantly 
his  soul  was  called  out  in  sympathy  for  these  sufferers,  and  the 
trials  of  martyrs.  But  he  often  asked,  Where  is  the  remedy,  and 
what  is  it  ?  Knowledge  of  ourselves,  and  the  laws  of  our  being, 
and  relations  to  one  another,  seemed  the  only  ones  he  could  dis- 
cover ;  and  these  seemed  distant,  and  not  easily  reached  by  society 
while  it  was  running  its  mad  career  after  wealth,  fashion,  religion, 
and  glory. 

September  was  scattering  its  autumn  shades  when  he  visited 
again  that  romantic  spot,  New  Brighton,  and  the  Alum  Rocks, 
and  met  the  happy  faces  there.  Again  he  found  the  happy  face 
20 


230  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

of  "W.  S.  Courtney  in  Pittsburg,  and  turned  the  corner  on  New 
Brighton.  Every  traveller  ought  to  visit  this  place  once,  and  see 
where  Grace  Greenwood  used  to  climb  the  rocks  and  paddle  in 
the  brooks,  in  the  days  of  her  girlhood,  which  gave  her  the  noble 
body  and  excellent  case  for  her  expanded  soul. 

Sunday,  September  _24.  —  A.  J.  Davis  lectured  in  the  Melodeon 
in  Cleveland  morning  and  evening,  and  the  Lone  One  in  the  after- 
noon ;  and  certainly  their  philosophy  harmonized,  as  their  minds  and 
feelings  did.  His  former  opinions  of  the  honest  and  happy-hearted 
seer  were  confirmed,  and  he  both  loved  and  esteemed  him,  and  ever 
after  registered  and  reported  him  as  the  "  happiest  man  that 
lives."  He  coasted  around  the  vicinity  of  Cleveland,  and  lectured 
almost  constantly  until  October  10th.  He  brought  up  again  at 
the  office  of  Carrie,  in  Cincinnati,  overjoyed  to  learn  of  her  pros- 
perity and  success  in  her  cherished  art  of  healing,  in  which  she 
had  studied  and  struggled  so  long,  and  suffered  so  much.  Large 
audiences,  as  usual,  came  to  hear  him  in  that  city.  He  followed 
his  subject  and  the  calls  to  many  places ;  but  among  the  most 
attractive  were  Cincinnati  and  Richmond,  and  afterwards  Dayton 
more  than  either. 

October  26.  —  Met  Mrs.  Thomas,  the  preacher  of  the  new  gos- 
pel, at  Middlebury,  Ohio,  and  assisted  her  over  some  of  the  theo- 
logical rocks  that  had  been  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of  her 
progress.  She  ever  after  had  more  freedom.  Also  met  one  of 
God  and  Nature's  tall  specimens  of  human  life,  light,  and  beauty, 
whose  gospel-mission  has  since  commenced,  and  whose  voice  and 
actions  have  gone  forth  in  battle  "  for  freedom  and  reform."  May 
God  and  the  angels  bless  her  noble  soul,  and  impel  her  on  her  way, 
was  and  is  his  prayer  for  her !  She  deserves  a  better  fate  than 
circumstances  have  given  her,  but  so  do  many  who  have  harder 
ones.  It  seems,  after  all  the  speculating  about  "free  agency," 
that  we  are  creatures  of  circumstances ;  and  how  much  we  can  do 
to  make  or  modify  circumstances  with  the  aid  of  circumstances  ia 
not  yet  known.  About  this  time  the  thread  of  correspondence, 
which  had  been  spun  out  to  near  five  years'  length  quite  evenly, 


LIFE-LINE    OE   THE   LONE    ONE.  231 

except  the  knot  at  the  point  of  theft,  was  twisted  off  by  a  lady, 
supposed  to  be  a  mutual  friend,  for  reasons  probably  known  to 
her,  and  it  was  never  after  tied  up ;  so  the  spools  were  laid  away 
for  future  use ;  and  if  they  are  ever  wove  into  a  web,  it  will  make 
a  garment  that  will  answer  to  wear  to  and  into  heaven ;  for  it 
was  pure  as  the  robes  of  angels  which  cover  their  affections. 

October.  —  Down  the  road  he  moves,  with  short  stops  in  Buf- 
falo, Rochester,  Auburn,  Syracuse,  Utica,  and  Troy,  to  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  and  met  there  again  good  friends,  and  that  feeble 
body  and  excellent  medium  for  quiet,  and  pleasant,  and  reliable 
communications,  Miss  Angeline  Munn,  through  whom  many  excel- 
lent messages  have  been  given,  that  the  public  have  read  without 
knowing  the  gentle  and  obscure  author.  Met  Lucy  Stone  at 
Hartford,  and  bade  her  farewell,  as  she  was  about  to  take  a  voy- 
age in  the  sea  of  matrimony,  from  which  her  return  was  doubtful, 
and  in  which  so  many  are  totally  lost,  and  others  shipwrecked,  a 
few  of  whom  get  back  to  shore.  He  hoped  the  silvery  tones  of 
her  attractive  voice  would  give  a  farewell  address  to  the  friends 
of  freedom  before  she  started,  on  the  ship  Ceremony,  for  Black- 
weWs  Island ;  but  she  went  off  soon  after,  only  registering  her 
name  at  the  station,  without  reserving  the  right  to  return  when 
she  pleased.  Many  loved  her  before,  and  not  less  after,  she  went 
to  the  nursery.  Here  he  also  met  the  woman  whom  he  once  found, 
a  stranger,  lying  sick  with  a  fever,  of  the  typhoid  species,  and, 
taking  her  by  the  hand,  bade  the  fever  depart,  and  "  straightway 
the  fever  left  her  "  from  that  hour,  and  she  arose  and  walked,  but 
not  until  her  emaciated  body  was  recruited  by  food.  Met  also, 
for  a  second  or  third  time,  that  beautiful  little,  Frank,  medium, 
through  whom  Red  Jacket  calls  the  squaws  and  braves  to  their 
places,  and  gives  them  specimens  of  his  wit  and  wisdom.  Pre- 
sented Mrs.  Mettler  with  a  lock  of  hair  from  the  head  of  a  sick 
lady  in  Ceresco,  Wisconsin,  and  received  a  most  accurate  and  crit- 
ical description  of  all  her  conditions  and  relations,  some  of  which 
were  pitiable  in  the  extreme,  and  beyond  remedy  while  law  and 
religion  continue  to  make  slaves,  victims,  and  martyrs,  to  cruel 


232  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    Cli'B. 

inharmonies  in  social  life.  Went  to  Poquonock  ;  found  a  church 
with  a  two-story  pulpit,  pens  for  pews ;  and  there  preached  the 
new  gospel  in  the  old  house,  and  it  did  not  burst ;  and  he  left 
with  the  best  wishes  of  some  good  souls  and  a  promise  to  return, 
but  left  the  time  loose.  So  it  is  yet. 

AVent  back  to  Springfield  and  met  a  New  England  Thanks- 
giving-day, and  found  a  great  contrast  between  the  table  of 
Mrs.  Harrison,  on  that  occasion,  and  the  one  he  found  at  home 
sixteen  years  before,  in  the  days  of  salt  and  potatoes,  eat  with 
tears  for  blessings.  In  this  city  he  found  a  wolf,  with  a  sheep's 
coat  on,  trying  to  coax  a  lamb  through  the  fence ;  and  he  picked 
up  the  willing  lamb  and  took  it  to  the  station  in  Boston,  and  sent 
it  by  express  to  its  paternal  home,  among  the  mountains,  where  it 
rested  in  safety  till  it  went  to  sea.  Found  Boston  and  December, 
and  that  indomitable  worker  for  spiritualism,  Dr.  H.  F.  Gardner, 
with  his  Fountain  House  for  a  spiritualist's  home ;  and  there  were 
truly  spirits  at  the  house,  but  not  the  kind  which  make  drunk 
come,  but  those  which  make  the  raps  and  tips  come;  and  people 
often  came  there  to  find  that  kind  of  spirits,  but  not  to  find  the  evil 
spirits,  which  are  usually  bottled  and  headed,  corked  and  decan- 
tered,  but  for  whose  freedom  the  Lone  One  ever  plead,  asking  that 
the  necks  of  the  bottles  might  be  wrung  and  twisted  off,  and  the 
heads  of  the  casks  broken,  and  the  spirits  allowed  to  run  freely 
away.  The  other  kind  always  seemed  to  be  free,  and  would  not 
always  come  at  bidding,  especially  of  wise  savans  and  professional 
dignitaries.  More  than  one  evening  he  was  found  sitting  in  Bar- 
nard's little  spirit-room,  where  the  drums  did  beat,  the  bells  tinkle, 
the  trumpets  sound,  the  tambourines  rattle,  and  the  drumsticks 
move  about  the  room,  all  in  the  dark~;  but  he  soon  satisfied  him- 
self that  an  invisible  power  did  perform  many  of  the  simple  tricks, 
—  invisible  of  course  in  the  dark,  and  he  was  satisfied  it  would  be, 
even  in  a  lighted  room,  but  it  never  was  philosophically  clear  to 
him  why  the  room  for  such  feats  must  be  dark.  The  spirits  never 
gave  a  scientific  reason,  although  they  often  attempted,  and  satis- 
fied those  who  were  ignorant  of  science  and  her  laws.  But  these 


LIFE-LINE    OF    THE    LONE    ONE.  233 

and  other  experiments  fully  satisfied  him  that  certain  spirits 
required  darkened  rooms  for  particular  performances.  This  seemed 
to  have  a  connection  with  haunted  houses,  where  the  wonders 
usually  occur  in  the  night  or  dark  —  but  why,  is  still  an  open 
question.  Made  the  acquaintance  of  that  bold  defender  of  the 
truth,  Theodore  Parker,  and  loved  to  hear  him  send  home  the 
startling  truths  to  the  anxious  minds  that  gathered  in  the  Music 
Hall,  each  Sabbath  morn.  "  Well,"  said  the  reverend,  at  the 
close  of  a  sermon,  "  did  I  do  your  subject  any  injustice?  "  for  he 
had  been  speaking  of  mediums  and  spiritualism.  —  "  No,  sir,"  said 
the  Lone  One,  "  only  criticized  it  as  I  often  do  ;  but  you  have  only 
reached  the  door  of  our  temple,  —  would  you  not  like  to  have  it 
opened,  and  walk  in,  and  view  its  beautiful  decorations?  "  —  "  Cer- 
tainly ;  I  am  always  seeking  for  new  truth.  Come  to  my  house  and 
tell  me  what  you  have  found."  But  the  visit  did  not  come  off,  for 
the  two  ends  missed  each  other,  and  passed  by  the  stopping-place. 
Heard  the  soft  whisperings  of  angels  through  Hattie  A.  Adams, 
and  the  "  Lily  Wreath  "  of  spirit-flowers  fell  from  her  hands  on 
his  brow  in  the  beautiful  visions  more  than  once,  as  he  heard  the 
ever-smiling  face  of  John  S.  relate  how  he  penned  and  pranced 
the  "  Town  and  Country  "  for  the  market.  But  we  have  not 
time  here  to  register  all  the  good  souls  with  whom  he  met  and 
parted. 

December  20.  —  In  Portland,  Me.  Meets  A.  J.  Davis,  at  the 
reformers'  home  of  Lydia  Dennct,  and  in  the  lecture-hall;  for  now 
the  seer,  too,  is  itinerant.  It  always  did  his  soul  good  to  meet 
Jackson,  for  then  he  knew  God  or  nature  had  one  specimen  of  a 
natural  and  true  man  —  a  man  without  a  mask,  inside  and  out- 
side alike.  Made  arrangements  for  a  course  of  lectures  for  him- 
gelf,  on  his  return,  to  follow  Mr.  Davis,  and  then  ploughed  on 
through  the  snow  to  the  end  of  the  rail.  Almost  froze  in  the 
gleigh-coach  before  he  reached  Bangor,  although  the  passengers 
had  the  advantage  of  the  heat  of  a  newly-married  couple,  on  a 
wedding  trip  to  the  eastern  "  jumping-off  place."  But  they 
reached  Bangor  late  in  the  eve,  where  he  found  warm  friends  and 
20* 


234  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

homes ;  but  what  became  of  the  wedding-party  was  never  known 
to  him,  for  they  were  to  go  on  at  four  next  morn,  and  at  six  ther- 
mometer was  near  thirty  degrees  below  zero  ;  and  whether  it  froze 
between  them  he  never  knew.  He  solicited  a  lock  of  their  hair  for 
their  friends,  but  they  would  not  send  this  token  back  to  Vermont  by 
him;  for  they  had  faith  in  God,  and  hoped  he  would  preserve  them, 
and  let  them  return  safe,  and  not  frozen  ;  —  perhaps  he  did.  His 
old  friend  Meliuda,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  was  here,  with  a  sister  and 
brother-in-law,  and  they  were  a  concert  and  made  beautiful  music 
at  each  lecture.  The  church  was  opened  and  ready,  and  a  liberal 
public  feeling  gave  him  full  audiences,  and  an  interesting  time. 
The  Christmas-tree  was  harvested  at  the  home  where  he  rested ; 
circles  and  happy  visits  used  up  the  time,  and  closed  the  old  year 
up ;  and,  on  the  31st  of  December,  it  sank  quietly  to  its  eternal 
rest,  unless  a  resurrection-trump  shall  awake  it,  of  which  there  is 
no  promise.  But  the  Hutchinson  boys  were  there  singing,  and 
they  sang  its  requiem,  and  the  Lone  One  preached  its  funeral 
sermon.  Ralph  "W.  Emerson,  whom  the  Lone  One  had  never 
before  met,  said  the  comic  and  witty,  acute  and  philosophical  words 
for  the  old  year,  as  it  was  about  to  die.  The  year  thus  closed, 
with  a  feast  of  fat  things,  in  a  deep  snow-rich  city,  and  happy 
homes,  far  down  in  the  State  of  Maine,  on  the  life  and  vision  of 
the  Cosmopolite. 

"  The  long  dark  night  of  the  world  is  past  ; 
The  day  of  humanity  dawns  at  last ; 
The  veil  is  rent  from  the  soul's  calm  eyes, 
And  prophets,  and  heroes,  and  seers,  arise  ; 
Their  words  and  deeds  like  the  thunders  go  ; 
Can  ye  stifle  their  voices  ?  —  They  answer,  '  No  ! ' 

"  We  live  in  deeds,  not  years  ;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths  ; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial. 
We  should  count  time  by  heart-throbs  :  he  most  lives 
Who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the  best ; 
And  he  whose  heart  beats  quickest  lives  the  longest." 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  235 

SECTION   III. 

1855. ITINERATING. INCIDENTS. FRIENDS   INCREASE. 

ONE    BY    ONE. 

One  by  one  the  sands  are  flowing, 

One  by  one  the  moments  fall  ; 
Some  are  coming,  some  are  going,  — 

Do  not  strive  to  grasp  them  all ! 

One  by  one  thy  duties  wait  thee,  — 

Let  thy  whole  strength  go  to  each  ; 
Let  no  future  dreams  elate  thee, 

Learn  thou  first  what  these  can  teach. 

One  by  one  —  bright  gifts  from  Heaven  — 

Joys  are  sent  thee  here  below  ; 
Take  them  readily  when  given, 

Ready,  too,  to  let  them  go. 

One  by  one  thy  griefs  shall  meet  thee,  — 

Do  not  fear  an  armed  band  ; 
One  will  fade  as  others  greet  thee, 

Shadows  passing  through  the  land. 

Do  not  look  at  life's  long  sorrow  ; 

See  how  long  each  moment's  pain  ; 
God  will  help  thee  for  to-morrow, 

Every  day  begin  again. 

Every  hour  that  fleets  so  slowly 

Has  its  task  to  do  or  bear  ; 
Luminous  the  crown  and  holy, 

If  thou  set  each  gem  with  care. 

Do  not  linger  with  regretting, 

Or  for  passing  hours  despond  ; 
Nor,  the  daily  toil  forgetting, 

Look  too  eagerly  beyond. 


236  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

Hours  are  golden  links,  God's  token, 

Reaching  Heaven,  but  one  by  one  ; 
Take  them,  lest  the  chain  be  broken 

Ere  the  pilgrimage  be  done. 

The  new  year  broke  beautifully  on  the  life  of  the  Lone  One  in 
Bangor,  and  the  day  was  spent  visiting  with  the  three  Hutchinson 
brothers,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shaw,  with  their  sister,  the  Troy 
medium,  writer,  and  singer,  who  had  been  so  unceremoniously 
dismissed  from  teaching  in  Troy  because  the  angels  communicated 
to  her  beautiful  messages  of  peace  and  love  for  those  who  needed 
such.  The  delightful  and  happy  homes  of  General  Hersey  and 
Mr.  McLaughlin  both  received  and  contributed  to  the  holiday 
joys,  and  aided  to  wheel  off  the  cold  hours  in  pleasure  and  glad- 
ness. The  day  closed  with  a  concert  and  crowd,  and  beautiful 
dreams  took  the  Lone  One  late  to  other  scenes.  Next  night  he 
slept  in  Portland,  at  the  home  of  N.  Foster,  where  reformers  find 
a  welcome  and  the  best  of  care ;  but  Mrs.  F.  had  removed  her 
"  board  and  lodging  "  to  a  new  home  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Styx,  where  she  was  expecting  him,  as  soon  as  he  completed  his 
labor  on  this  side.  She  was  not  so  far  away  that  they  could  not 
hear  from  her;  for  she  often  sent  word,  and  assured  her  husband 
of  her  good  health  and  happy  life  in  the  new  home. 

January  5.  —  A  letter  for  a  western  paper  commenced  some- 
what in  this  wise :  "  My  date  reminds  me  that  this  day  completes 
forty-two  years  that  I  have  breathed  the  atmosphere  of  this  earth, 
and  boarded  with  its  inhabitants.  I  have  been  fanned  by  its 
zephyrs,  and  chilled  by  its  boreas ;  wanned  by  its  sunshine  in 
summer-time,  and  bitten  by  its  frosts  of  winter-time,  both  in  body 
and  spirit,  from  the  world  of  matter  and  the  world  of  mind  around 
me.  Much  of  my  life  has  been  a  sad  experience,  full  of  events 
xind  vicissitudes  that  may  one  day  make  up  a  narrative  for  the 
curious.  My  attempt  at  life  on  earth  was  begun  in  the  winter,  in 
every  sense  and  meaning  of  the  word.  In  mid-winter,  by  the 
calendar,  in  the  geographical  winter  of  New  Hampshire.  In  the 
abject  poverty  winter  of  society ;  in  the  winter  of  social  scorn  and 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  237 

contempt,  despised  by  the  ignorant  and  vulgar.  In  the  solitary 
winter  of  loneliness,  with  no  brother,  no  sister,  no  father,  and  but 
a  momentary  visit  from  a  mother;  such  was  the  winter  of  an 
ardent  and  sensitive  soul.  In  the  winter  of  intellect,  too  ;  for  by 
hard-earned  coin  I  paid  for  the  book-knowledge  at  school,  and  by 
toiling  by  day,  and  studying  by  night,  for  many  years,  I  unfolded 
my  intellect,  and  gradually  melted  away  the  snows  of  human 
prejudice.  In  a  winter  of  religion,  for  even  to  the  age  of  thirty 
no  ray  of  hope  for  happiness,  or  even  existence  beyond  this,  to 
me,  miserable  life,  enlivened  one  hour  of  toil  and  misery ;  hope 
sank  in  utter  darkness,  and  scarcely  could  the  light  of  God  be  seen 
through  the  snow-drifts  which  circumstances  and  society  had 
heaped  upon  me.  Twenty  years  ago  I  sought  a  home  in  the  then 
far  West ;  and  there,  after  many  years  of  toil  and  suffering,  I  have 
at  last  found  the  summer-time  of  life,  and  the  sunshine  of  happi- 
ness, and  my  soul  is  full  to  overflowing." 

The  course  of  lectures  were  well  attended  in  Portland,  and  a 
lively  interest  awakened  in  the  city,  which  has  never  subsided ; 
nor  will  it,  until  the  city  is  "  leavened."  Returned  to  Boston, 
and  homed  at  the  Fountain  House  a  few  weeks,  and  missionaried 
about  the  country.  Found  Joseph  Dow  and  lady  in  Woburn, 
with  souls  in  them,  and  heard  of  others  in  the  place,  where  a  few 
attentive  minds  listened  to  his  voice. 

Jan.  14.  —  Lectured  in  Hartford,  and  had  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  and  happy  visits  with  old  friends  there,  and  returned, 
passing  Springfield.  Came  to  Warren,  and  addressed  a  full  house, 
and  again  in  Ware  met  new  friends  and  attentive  listeners. 
Passed  by  and  viewed  the  rocky  home  where  Lucy  Stone  used  to 
skip,  and  play,  and  work.  But  he  did  not  call,  for  the  bird  had 
flown,  lleturned  to  Boston,  and  met  Emma  F.  Jay,  whose  ac- 
quaintance he  had  before  made  at  Troy,  and  who  was  now  a  re- 
markable medium.  She,  too,  had  in  early  life  found  a  home  in 
the  same  Southport  village  of  Wisconsin,  and  sojourned  also  in 
the  Battle  Creek  of  Michigan,  and  schooled  in  the  LaKoy  semi- 
nary of  New  York.  Orphaned  out,  and  tossed  about,  slandered 


238  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

and  scorned,  for  her  mediumship,  and  defence  of  the  truth.  She 
had,  by  these  means,  attained,  and  deserved,  a  high  place  in  the 
army  of  spiritualists.  A  well-deserved  notoriety  soon  after  took 
her  over  the  ocean,  with  friends ;  but  the  spiritual  atmosphere 
there  would  not  hold  her  up,  and  she  leaned  on  the  social  and  in- 
tellectual arm  of  society.  Made  a  visit  of  Tier  mission,  and  re- 
turned to  triumph  more,  and  better,  at  home,  as  a  messenger  of 
the  angels,  till  she  landed  on  the  island  of  domestic  life,  over  the 
sea  of  matrimony,  and  homed  at  the  old  "  stamping-ground,"  in 
the  city  of  Kenosha,  —  once  Southport. 

Feeling  lonely,  one  day,  he  stepped  into  a  room  where  were  a 
gentleman  and  his  wife,  both  good  mediums,  and  seated  himself  as 
a  visitor,  or  friend.  Soon  the  lady,  with  a  sudden  convulsed  jerk 
of  the  body  and  arm,  threw  her  work  from  her  lap,  and,  in  an  en- 
tranced state,  turned  to  him  and  said,  "A  beautiful  white  cloud 
hangs  over  you,  with  a  richness  of  pure  white  too  delightful  for 
description.  Slowly  I  see  a  small,  delicate,  and  exquisitely 
moulded  hand  and  arm  project  from  the  cloud  !  In  the  fingers  is 
one,  bright  red  pink  ;  —  do  you  know  its  language  ?  "  —  "  Yes,"  ha 
replied.  "The  arm  reaches  it  to  you,  and,  placing  it  in  your  lips, 
recedes.  At  a  distance  the  cloud  slowly  opens,  and  I  behold  the 
features  and  form  of  one  of  the  most  lovely  beings  my  spirit-eye 
hath  ever  beheld,  and  I  hear  her  say,  '"When  thy  wearying  task 
is  done,  when  thy  earthly  clouds  are  passed,  when  thy  mission 
is  performed,  when  thy  wounded  heart  is  healed,  when  thou 
layest  thy  body  down,  —  then  we  will  lead  thee  to  our  home,  where 
thy  soul  shall  mingle,  one  with  mine,  in  pure,  unclouded 
love.'  Her  smiling  face  and  celestial  form  is  again  hid  in  the 
cloud,  and  it  moves  slowly  away."  The  dark  cloud  was  lifted  off 
his  feelings,  and  they  were  again  buoyant  and  happy.  Header, 
who  do  you  think  did  this?  Was  it  a  devil,  or  a  bad  woman? 
But  some  of  you  will  ask  who  was  the  spirit.  To  him  it  was  a 
vision  of  the  future;  not  personal,  on  the  part  of  the  angel,  but 
only  representative.  He  knew  too  much  of  such  visions  to  seek 
for  names,  or  persons;  for  they  are  only  given  to  represent  coudi- 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  239 

tions  and  times.  The  person  represented  in  such  visions  may  be 
in  either  world,  known  or  unknown  ;  and  we  are  not  often  supplied 
with  correct  information  of  the  persons  represented,  for  usually  it 
is  not  be.st  for  us  to  know. 

Jan.  27. —  Some  excellent  friends  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  re- 
ceived a  visit,  and  collected  very  large  audiences,  in  the  Temple, 
to  listen  to  his  lectures.  The  spirits  were  ringing  door-bells,  and 
making  some  other  demonstrations  in  the  town,  that  served  to 
awaken  an  interest  and  inquiry.  The  social  atmosphere  was 
very  pleasant  at  this  station,  and  he  lingered  till  his  appointment 
at  Kennebunk,  Me.,  called  him  thither.  Found  friends  and  lis- 
teners numerous  there,  also,  and  filled  the  mission,  and  returned 
to  meet  his  appointment  at  Natick,  and  lodge  in  the  soul-refresh- 
ing home  of  his  friend  Hanchet,  and  shook  once  more  the  political 
hand  of  Senator  Wilson,  with  whom  he  had  been  stationed  on  the 
platform  at  Pittsburg,  in  his  day  of  political  conventions.  One 
of  the  most  intelligent  and  appreciative  audiences  assembled  to 
hear  him  in  Natick,  and  long  he  remembered  his  pleasant  visit, 
and  the  influences  of  the  place. 

Feb.  7.  —  Drifted  in,  by  snow,  at  Essex,  where  a  preacher  had  in- 
duced him  to  come  and  lecture,  where  a  few  good  souls  were  ready 
for  the  gospel  which  he  preached. 

Feb.  11.  —  Attended  to  the  sermon  of  Parker  in  morning,  and 
spoke  twice  at  the  Melodeon  to  good  audiences.  A  cloud  hung 
over  his  soul  about  these  days,  for  extraordinary  efforts  were  made 
to  destroy  his  influence  by  slander  and  falsehood,  based  on  stories 
which  were  only  valuable  by  transportation,  but  worth  nothing  at 
the  places  where  they  started.  His  loving  nature  and  affectionate 
heart,  which  had  been  so  crushed  in  early  life,  was  now  receiving 
its  natural  flow,  and  he  was  often  found  in  conversation  or  cor- 
respondence with  the  best,  and  purest,  and  most  intelligent  ladies 
of  his  circle  of  acquaintance;  and  a  letter  or  a  visit  from  a  lady 
unknown  to  the  enemies,  or  jealous  sensualists,  was  ample  evi- 
dence, and  testimony,  that  he  was  a  "  Free  Lover."  When  this 
cloud  passed  away,  it  was  the  last  that  ever  did,  and  probably  the 
last  that  ever  will,  shade  his  soul,  for  he  had  drank  deep  of  the 


240  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

*     *     "  Pure  and  strengthening  camomile, 

Whose  crushed  leaves  ever  show 
How  the  true  and  strong  heart  gathereth 

Fresh  energy  from  woe." 

It  was  truly  a  long  time  before  his  sensitive  heart  could  be 
reconciled  to  the  falsehoods  of  enemies  and  pretended  friends ; 
but  at  last  he  triumphed  in  that  struggle,  and  felt  the  forgiving 
spirit  of  Jesus,  who  could  as  freely  forgive  Peter  and  Judas  as 
he  could  those  who  crucified  him.  A  point  which  Christians  have 
seldom  attained,  but  which  the  Harmonial  Philosophy  teaches,  and 
A.  J.  Davis  practises,  as  a  disciple  of  nature. 

Feb.  13.  —  Dropped  a  lecture  in  Lexington,  not  as  famous  as 
the  battle,  but  may  have  hit  some  object.  A  second  pleasant  visit 
at  Portsmouth.  Heard  Sally  Holley  try  to  unite  Bible  with  anti- 
slavery.  Vain  effort  to  make  it  all  read  that  way,  while  it  reads 
both  in  defence,  and  condemnation,  of  every  evil.  A  second  visit 
to  Portland,  with  better  success  than  in  first.  Used  up  a  week, 
and  made  new  friends,  and  the  increasing  influence  and  constant 
labor  in  this  cause  made  its  enemies  more  bitter  and  vindictive 
than  ever. 

Returned  to  Boston  to  see  February  expire,  and  to  part  with  a 
patient,  whose  system  had  received  much  benefit  from  magnetism, 
through  his  system.  This  patient  is  often  referred  to  in  the  diary 
as  Belle,  and  was  a  poor  victim  of  disease,  and  medicine,  with  a 
fine  and  large  brain,  well  balanced,  and  a  nobleness  of  soul  and 
character  seldom  equalled  in  one  of  only  ordinary  education.  She 
had  been  totally  blind  for  four  years,  from  the  age  of  sixteen  to 
twenty,  and  during  the  time  physicians  had  experimented  on  her 
nervous  system,  until  they  had  nearly  destroyed  all  its  capacities 
for  enjoyment;  and  when  she  ceased  all  medical  remedies,  she 
slowly  and  partially  recovered  her  vision.  The  jealous  friends 
and  pious  enemies  both  found  good  food  for  slander  in  his  mag- 
netizing this  poor  sick  girl.  But  their  fires  went  out  when  she 
got  married  to  a  distinguished  business  man,  and  left  the  circle  of 
gossip,  but  never  the  feeling  of  gratitude  to  him. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  241 

March  2. —  Visit  the  home  of  John  M.  Spear  and  daughter, 
in  Melrose.  Sophronia  was  an  angel  while  here,  and  at  that  time, 
and  now  is  with  them  in  a  more  affectionate  and  happier  home, 
as  she  testifies  to  the  Lone  One,  and  many  other  friends,  who 
knew  and  loved  her  while  here,  and  as  her  husband  knew  then, 
and  still  testifies ;  but  the  people  abused  her,  as  they  do  all  of 
their  best  specimens  of  human-life  purity. 

Sunday,  March  4.  —  Turned  off  three  lectures  in  Lawrence,  to 
large  and  intelligent  audiences. 

In  Lawrence  found  a  cousin  in  a  happy  home,  with  one  of  the 
best  of  husbands,  and  one  little  daughter.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Joseph,  who  had  ever  been  the  most  sympathizing  and  kind  of 
his  relatives,  and  whose  family  had  ever  treated  him  as  a  relation. 
With  this  cousin  he  ever  after  sojourned  when  in  the  city  ;  and 
now  for  the  first  time  since  he  left  his  native  town  for  the  West 
he  met  with  a  relative.  She  had  a  story  to  tell,  a  life-line  to 
follow.  One  of  the  best  and  most  affectionate  of  girls,  she  was 
early  married  by  law,  and  tried  to  live  with  a  man  who  was  to 
her  anything  but  what  a  husband  should  be,  until  her  constitution 
was  nearly  ruined,  and  at  last  was  forced  to  leave  him,  and  be 
unlocked  by  a  decree  of  court ;  and,  after  some  years  of  struggle 
and  buffeting  the  world  of  scorn,  she  at  length  met  her  true  mate, 
and  unitedly  and  happily  they  wind  their  way  along  the  mar- 
ried journey,  happy  in  all  but  her  poor  health.  Adding  this  to 
his  cabinet  of  specimens  of  marriage  unions,  he  journeyed  along, 
wishing  he  had  all  the  experiences  to  record,  that  the  law-makers 
might  see  the  picture,  and  be  induced  to  so  change  the  law  that  it 
would  not  be  more  honorable  to  die  or  live  in  misery,  than  to 
escape  from  such  pollution  and  adultery  as  many  live  in,  forced 
by  law  and  public  opinion  united,  to  crush  their  victims. 

Next  point  of  note  was  Concord,  N.  H.,  where  the  lectures  did 
not  call  out  many  hearers  ;  but  here  he  picked  up  a  specimen  for 
his  cabinet  of  curiosities.  In  the  old  Chandler  homestead  he 
found  John,  with  his  unshaven  face  and  head ;  of  course,  a  singu- 
lar man,  and  one  of  the  odd  sticks.  Martha,  with  her  pleasant 
21 


242  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

face  and  contented  look,  and  the  fine-looking  children.  From 
them  he  learned  the  story  of  their  marriage,  which  God  or  nature 
had  cemented  many  years  before,  when  they  were  young.  They 
religiously  repudiated  marriage,  but  after  an  early  and  long 
acquaintance  they  believed  they  were  mates.  She  had  been 
much  at  the  old  homestead ;  and  one  morning  at  breakfast,  with- 
out any  previous  notice  to  his  parents,  or  others,  they  both 
announced  their  intention  to  live  together  as  much  like  married 
people  as  they  pleased,  and  be  as  near  one  in  life  and  labor  as 
God  had  made  them  adapted  to  each  other.  When  the  surprise 
was  over,  then  the  rage  of  gossip  began,  and  lasted  for  years,  but 
gradually  it  died,  for  they  ever  lived  true  to  each  other,  happy 
in  and  with  each  other ;  and  as  God  married  them,  of  course  no 
man  has  ever  put  them  asunder ;  and  no  earthly  marriages  have 
been  more  pleasant  through  the  trials  of  life.  They  wandered  to 
the  West  once  after  an  association,  at  a  time  when  John  repudi- 
ated money.  They  returned,  through  many  hardships,  to  the  old 
homestead,  which  has  recorded  the  years  for  more  than  a  century, 
in  Concord. 

Some  time  after  this  date  John  furnished  another  firebrand 
for  the  market  of  gossip.  Their  eldest  child  had  left  her  body, 
—  a  girl  of  about  a  dozen  summers,  —  and,  as  the  family  were 
sick,  John  employed  the  sexton  to  take  the  body  to  the  grave- 
yard and  bury  it,  without  a  priest  or  funeral,  or  even  followers  to 
the  grave.  The  enraged  Christians  were  almost  ready  to  dig  it 
up  and  hang  him,  and  bury  both  decently,  as  they  called  it.  But 
John  only  laughed  at  their  rage,  and  did  as  he  had  a  mind  to  do. 

March  12,  '55.  —  The  team  lands  him  in  Pittsfield,  twenty 
years,  lacking  a  few  days,  since  he  left.  The  voters  had  been 
called  to  the  town-hall  to  hear  a  speech  from  Mr.  Clark,  of  Man- 
chester, an  acquaintance  of  the  Lone  One.  He  was  to  follow  in 
a  speech  to  the  Republican  voters ;  and  next  day  was  to  be  elec- 
tion-day in  the  state.  Only  one  citizen  knew  the  Lone  One  was 
present;  and  as  Mr.  Clark  was  compelled  to  leave  at  the  close  of 
his  speech,  he  was  requested  to  announce  a  stranger  to  follow  in  a 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    OME.  243 

speech,  but  not  to  name  him,  for  he  was  now  nameless ;  probably 
not  twenty  people  in  the  town  knew  he  was  living,  and  only  the 
one  knew  he  was  present.  It  was  a  surprised  party,  as  he  made 
his  way  to  the  stand  through  the  anxious  crowd,  and,  mounting 
the  rostrum,  deliberately  releasing  himself  from  his  extra  coat,  he 
soon  called  to  their  minds  the  last  election  in  which  he  took  an 
active  part  with  some  of  them,  when  many  others  now  active 
among  them  were  playing  around  their  cradle-beds  or  mothers' 
laps.  Then  he  told  them  of  his  travels  in  the  West  and  the 
South,  —  in  the  border  free  states,  and  in  the  border  slave  states, 
—  and  explained  the  contrast,  and  many  of  his  observations  and 
experiences.  All  persons  of  all  parties  were  chained  by  the 
thread  of  his  discourse  and  the  story,  and  looked  sorry  when 
he  closed,  which  was  compelled  by  the  late.  Then  followed 
a  scene  such  as  we  cannot  describe.  A  hundred  persons  rushed 
to  greet  him,  each  eager  to  clasp  his  hand,  and  many  to  be 
recognized  in  person  or  in  family ;  but  none,  save  two  little  boys, 
of  the  name  or  family  with  whom  he  had  lived  out  his  boyhood. 
The  lawyer  and  the  eldest  brother  had  removed  from  the  town ; 
the  father  and  the  one  with  whom  he  had  served  his  time  had 
removed  over  Jordan,  and  left  only  the  two  little  boys  at  the  old 
homestead.  They  were  born  after  he  left,  of  a  second  wife. 
After  much  entreaty,  and  many  apologies  to  fractional  relatives 
and  others,  he  finally  went  home  with  the  Drake  family,  several 
of  whom,  now  men  and  women,  were  little  children  when  he  left, 
but  in  and  of  a  family  of  dear  friends  much  visited  by  him  for 
several  years,  and  near  Brackett's  homestead.  Half  an  hour's 
visit  to  his  old  home  was  all  he  could  spare,  and  many  short  calls 
among  them  —  one  on  a  cousin  and  her  happy  home.  One  whose 
mother  was  a  sister  of  Simon,  and  who  married  into  the  name, 
and,  dropping  this  one  daughter  on  earth,  wt-nt  home  to  heaven, 
leaving  the  husband  to  marry  again,  but  not  to  crowd  the  lovely 
daughter  out  of  sole  heirship.  Therefore,  she  brought  her  hus- 
band to  the  fine  old  home  on  the  hill,  and  there  still  lingered  the 
almost  octogenarian  parent,  with  two  wives  in  heaven,  and  none 


244  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   0V'E. 

on  earth.  Sophronia  was  overjoyed  to  meet  him,  for  she  had 
loved  him  as  a  cousin  in  his  youth,  and  to  her  he  was  still  a  rela- 
tive, and  ever  had  been.  Four  days,  and  all  the  visits  were  closed, 
and  the  one  lecture  in  the  church  on  the  Western  States  had 
awakened  the  interest,  and  sufficed  to  let  them  know  he  hud  out- 
grown the  boyhood,  and  their  scorn  and  contempt  for  his  birth  and 
youth. 

March  16. —  Eeturned  to  Concord;  17th,  to  Boston ;  18th. 
lectured  twice  in  Chelsea,  and  quartered  at  the  excellent  and 
happy  home  of  Capt.  Williams,  and  found  the  quiet  and  happy 
parents  of  Mrs.  W.  and  Mrs.  Alvin  Adams  (Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bridge),  on  whose  souls  the  sunshine  of  the  next  life  was  shining 
brightly,  enabling  them  to  see  and  feel  the  life  to  come  while  yet 
lingering  here  in  feeble  bodies.  Met  and  visited  old  and  new 
friends  at  many  homes,  in  Boston  and  vicinity.  Lectured  almost 
constantly. 

March  23.  —  Stood  on  the  Winnesimmet  ferry-boat,  with 
uncommonly  large  number  of  passengers,  when  a  large  ship, 
launched  from  the  stocks,  came  directly  toward  it.  So  doubtful 
were  the  chances  of  "  fore  or  aft "  passage,  that  the  engineer 
stopped  the  wheels,  and  in  one  minute  all  the  frightened  and 
screaming  crowd  would  have  been  under  the  mighty  ship's  prow, 
and  under  water,  but  for  a  mighty  yell  of  some  person,  given  with 
power  enough  to  induce  the  engineer  to  put  on  the  motion  at  full 
force,  by  which  the  flat  ferry,  with  its  load  of  passengers,  mostly 
ladies,  was  pushed  forward,  and  the  monster  grazed  the  stern  as 
she  passed  the  frightened  crowd.  "  Narrow  escape  !  "  they  cried, 
and  some  thanked  God,  and  some  the  engineer,  and  some  the  man 
that  yelled.  The  Lone  One  looked  coolly  on,  calm,  and  prepared 
for  either  sphere  of  life  and  action.  Half  an  hour  after,  he  was 
on  a  train  of  cars  that  ran  against  a  team  just  returning  from  a 
funeral,  and  narrowly  escaped  an  upset  and  destruction  of  prop- 
erty, and  preparation  of  material  for  more  funerals ;  but  narrow 
escapes  are  frequent  on  the  cars. 

March  26.  —  Farewell   to  Boston.     Stop  over  in  Springfie'd 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  245 

and  hold  up  at  the  Palace  Home,  in  Hartford.  Excellent  circle, 
and  visit  with  best  of  friends. 

March  29.  —  Met  with  the  Associationists  in  New  York  city, 
and  made  speech  for  theory,  and  recounted  unhappy  experience. 
Went  home  with  the  old  reformer,  Tappan  Townsend,  of 
Brooklyn. 

March  30.  —  In  eve  at  conference  of  spiritualists,  but  found 
more  wrangling  than  harmony,  and  few  harmonized  spirits  in 
attendance.  Could  not  find  out  their  object. 

Sunday,  April  1. — Lectures  in  Stuyvesant  Institute  in  day, 
and  in  Dodsworth's  in  eve,  to  crowded  hall ;  at  the  close  of  which 
many  applications  were  made  for  him,  but  his  time  was  limited,  and 
he  could  not  engage.  Overheard  a  judge  say  that  was  the  best 
lecture  they  had  heard  in  the  hall ;  but  the  press  said  very  little 
about  it,  of  course,  for  he  was  the  World's  Guild,  not  of  distin- 
guished parentage,  but  born  in  its  lower  circle,  and  slowly  wend- 
ing his  way  to  its  outer  spiritual  sphere. 

April  2.  —  A  highly  intellectual  treat,  in  a  visit  with  Ernestine 
L.  Hose ;  and  then  on  the  cars  bound  to  Cleveland,  with  short 
stop  at  Cuba  ;  found  Hattie  watching  by  the  side  of  her  soon-to-be- 
released  father.  Cora,  whose  father  had  been  called  through  the 
cholera-gate  to  the  other  life,  was  on  her  mission  elsewhere,  but 
her  Lovisa-mother  was  aiding  Hattie.  Only  themselves  can  tell 
how  glad  they  all  were  to  meet  again  one  so  nearly  allied  to  them 
in  the  dispensation  of  the  new  gospel. 

April  6.  —  Once  more  in  Cleveland,  and  meet  the  Mary  F.,  whose 
soul  was  now  freed  from  its  legal  earthly  bondage,  by  her  effort, 
and  now  she  could  say  to  Mr.  L.,  marry  now,  if  you  wish,  the  girl 
you  love,  for  the  court  has  freed  you  from  me  by  my  request. 
No  friend  of  hers  could  be  more  rejoiced  at  her  freedom  than  the 
Lone  One,  except  it  might  be  the  one  with  whom  her  existence 
soon  after  blended,  and  with  which  it  still  remains  blended.  Sun- 
day he  lectured  twice,  and  Mary  once,  in  the  Melodeon  ;  but,  for 
want  of  proper  notice,  to  small  audiences.  Hers  was  a  noble 
effort,  and  a  beautiful  lecture,  and  she  felt  her  freedom  as  her  soul 


246  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

bounded  with  its  outstretched  wing  once  more  in  the  world  of 
mankind,  —  a  woman,  free,  though  despised  by  many  of  those  in 
bondage.  Her  free  heart  went  to  its  true  mate  soon  after,  and 
found  its  home  where  no  law  of  man  could  make  or  mar  the  union. 

April  15.  —  One  of  the  happiest  and  best  visits  of  his  life  at 
Akron  and  Middlebury,  with  lectures,  and  his  artist-friend  and  her 
mother  and  several  others,  all  of  whom  endeavored  to  contribute 
to  his  happiness,  and  whose  kindnesses  he  never  will  forget  in  this 
world  or  the  world  to  come.  Coasted  and  lectured  along  the  way 
westward,  at  Elyria  and  other  places. 

April  23. —  Brought  up  at  L.  Martin's,  in  Adrian,  Michigan, 
one  of  the  neatest  little  homes  that  the  spirits  could  find  on  earth. 
No  pet  but  the  cat  soils  the  carpet,  and  even  the  talking  is  mostly 
done  by  the  visitors ;  but  this  was  always  one  of  the  best  homes 
for  the  Lone  One,  and  where  he  ever  found  a  hearty  welcome, 
and  efforts  and  notices  for  lectures,  which  to  him  were  now  almost 
his  meat  and  drink.  Next  in  Detroit  to  meet  an  esteemed  friend, 
with  the  soul  of  an  angel  in  earthly  form,  whose  mate  had  been 
snatched  from  her  arms  by  the  cholera,  leaving  her  to  guide  and 
train  up  the  boys  alone.  This  elegant  and  highly-refined  lady  was 
ever  a  fast  friend  of  the  Lone  One,  in  sunshine  and  storm ;  for  she 
knew  his  life  and  labors  were  above  the  vile  dregs  of  society,  that 
ever  slandered  and  abused  him.  She  believed  in  eternal  life,  and 
that  she  should  again  meet  her  husband  in  a  new  home,  and  of  course 
this  heresy  rendered  her  unpopular ;  but  she  was  free,  and  the 
angels  administered  unto  her. 

April  29.  —  Three  very  good  audiences  in  Detroit,  in  Fireman's 
Hall,  listened  to  his  voice.  Some  excellent  friends  at  Jackson 
made  his  short  visit  highly  pleasant;  and  at  Albion  the  hall  was 
full  of  listeners,  for  the  cause  had  made  much  progress  there 
through  the  labors  of  Mrs.  0.  Sprague,  afterwards  Mrs.  Tuttle, 
one  of  the  ablest  and  best  of  medium-speakers  in  the  field  "  to 
this  day." 

Sunday,  May  6.  —  The  hall  at  Battle  Creek  was  well  filled,  to 
listen  to  the  well-known  voice  of  the  Lone  One ;  and  the  Bedford 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  247 

school  and  the  Cornell  home  received  its  accustomed  visit.  Waded 
through  Chicago,  but  no  call  for  news  from  the  other  life  there. 
They  were  mostly  engaged  in  speculating  with  corner-lots,  and 
stocks,  &c.  In  Milwaukee,  the  9th,  and  met  audiences  in  the  hall 
at  each  appointed  hour ;  very  good  interest.  Closed  his  course  on 
Sunday,  the  13th,  and  parted  with  Dr.  Greves  and  many  excellent 
friends ;  and  on  the  15th  reached  his  Ceresco  home  and  the  bosom 
of  an  anxious  family,  who  had  watched  each  approach  as  the 
weekly  letter  reported  it,  after  an  absence  of  little  over  ten  months. 
Eager  friends  came  gathering  round,  and  wondering  enemies 
sneaked  out  of  sight,  ashamed  and  conscience-smitten  for  their 
abuse  and  slander.  Rum  and  religion  had  doubled  teams  in  Ripon 
and  Ceresco,  and  sent  a  mob  after  some  new  settlers  or  visitors  in 
the  place,  who,  it  was  said,  had  lived,  or  were  living,  together  as 
man  and  wife  without  permission  of  a  priest ;  and  one  deacon,  of  hard 
history  and  bad  repute,  entered  a  complaint  against  the  new  comers, 
although  he  had  never  been  in  a  house  when  they  were  in  it,  nor 
ever  spoken  to  them ;  but  his  oath  to  what  he  knew  nothing  of,  was 
sufficient,  with  the  prejudice,  to  arrest  and  bind  over  the  two 
strangers  who  had  been  guilty  of  living  in  the  place  for  a  few  weeks, 
—  married  or  unmarried,  no  one  knew,  save  what  they  said  them- 
selves, and  they  denied  the  right  of  a  priest  to  marry  them.  They 
were  strangers  to  the  Lone  One,  and  all  others  in  Ceresco,  and  the 
man  subsequently  proved  himself  unworthy  the  martyrdom ;  but  they 
found  bail  for  appearance  at  county  court,  and  that  was  the  end 
of  the  matter,  for  the  influence  of  the  little  Ripon  pettifogger  did 
not  reach  to  the  county  seat,  and  the  district  attorney  knew  better 
than  to  tax  the  county  with  his  ridiculous  nonsense.  In  the  midst 
of  all  this  the  Lone  One  had  good  audiences  on  Sunday,  the  20th. 
Even  many  of  the  rowdies  came  to  hear  him,  and  listened  quietly, 
and  as  usual  found  the  pious  enemies  had  lied  about  him,  and  taken 
advantage  of  his  absence  to  spread  the  lies. 

During  his  last  absence  six  families,  four  of  them  old  citizens 
of  irreproachable  character,  and  two  new  settlers,  united  them- 
selves, as  they  called  it,  into  what  was  called  the  Ceresco  Union, 


248  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

and  issued  a  circular,  which  was  published  in  several  papers,  sct- 
tiug  forth  their  unobjectionable  views,  and  inviting  friends  who 
agreed  with  them  in  sentiment  to  come  and  join  them,  and  settle 
in  Ceresco.  No  noise,  objection,  or  prejudice,  was  raited  about  or 
against  the  Union,  until  a  Dr.  Newbury,  from  New  York,  came 
there,  and  gave  a  course  of  lectures  in  which  he  defended  the 
freedom  of  the  sexes,  and  opposed  all  marriage  and  restraint  of 
law  on  the  rights  of  women,  &c. ;  the  mob  spirit  arose,  set  on  by 
religious  bigotry,  and  an  attempt  to  mob  him  called  out  the  fami- 
lies who  composed  the  Union,  and  they  defended  him  until  his 
lectures  ended,  and  he  left  to  return  no  more.  But  they  had 
brought  down  the  curse  of  the  rabble  and  the  busy  pettifogger, 
who,  about  this  time,  got  control  of  a  little  squib  sheet  that  adver- 
tised the  goods  of  Ripon  for  the  country  market,  and  in  this  he 
puffed  himself,  and  let  off  his  venom  on  the  Ceresco  Union,  with 
great  applause  from  the  enemies  of  Ceresco.  At  a  distance,  the 
whole  scheme  was  charged  to  the  Lone  One,  and  Newbury  was 
said  to  have  been  sent  there  by  him,  although  he  never  saw  this 
Newbury,  "  to  this  day,"  nor  heard  of  him  except  in  Ceresco  ;  and, 
although  he  never  belonged  to  the  Union,  nor  heard  of  it  till  its 
circular  was  published,  and  neither  condemned  nor  endorsed  its 
sentiments.  But  he  was  ever  ready  to  maintain  the  freedom  of 
speech,  and  the  right  of  every  person  to  teach  whatever  sentiments 
he  or  she  pleases,  as  those  who  do  not  wish  to  hear  could  cer- 
tainly stay  away.  More  than  five  hundred  newspapers  in  the 
nation  copied  slanderous  imputations  about  the  Lone  One  started  by 
the  little  sheet  at  Ripon,  and  by  a  worse  and  more  reckless,  Courier, 
at  Oshkosh,  which  procured  its  vile  lies  from  the  pettifogger,  who 
was  personally  under  obligations  to  the  Lone  One,  from  which  he 
released  himself  by  such  abuse ;  but  he  had  a  reason,  previously 
given  in  these  pages.  An  acquaintance  and  personal  friendship 
was  ail  the  connection  the  Lone  One  ever  had  with  this  or  any 
other  union,  except  the  old  Phalanx,  which  died  in  '50,  and  ever 
after  which,  he  intended  to  fight  on  his  own  hook,  and  be  the  expo- 
nent of  his  own  views,  as  he  is,  boldly  and  openly  But  his  homo 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  249 

was  in  Ceresco,  and  he  was  a  spiritualist ;  and  if  "  Free  Love  "  or 
any  other  subject  could  be  used  to  prejudice  the  people,  it  would 
be  charged  to  him. 

May  25. —  Started  again,  and  lectured  in  Fond-du-lac  in  eve, 
and  next  day  reached  Sheboygan  Falls,  and  Sunday,  27th,  lectured 
in  new  church  to  good  audience,  and  on  28th  in  court-house  at 
Sheboygan.  Tuesday,  his  eldest  son  arrived,  and  they  took  boat 
for  Chicago,  and  the  son  went  on  to  Battle  Creek  and  to  the  Bedford 
school  and  Cornell  home,  where  he  found  a  welcome,  and  better 
friends  than  he  ever  found  out  of  his  own  home.  The  father 
stopped  in  Chicago,  and  whistled  off  to  Rockford  to  sleep  at  the 
happy  home  of  his  friend  Dr.  Rudd.  Dr.  Haskell  had  the  circles, 
and  his  paper,  going  forth  to  spread  the  truth,  but  was  not  satisfied 
to  have  the  work  go  on  so  slowly.  Three  lectures  were  well  at- 
tended on  Sunday.  In  Dixon,  June  6,  one  lecture;  made  a 
good  impression.  Next  Peoria,  the  handsomest  of  handsome 
cities  in  Illinois,  took  down  a  course  of  lectures  well  got  up  by 
two  of  the  Higgins  brothers.  By  the  llth  was  again  in  Rock- 
ford,  and  on  the  12th  met  once  more  the  three  sisters  at  Rockton. 
The  mother  had  now  escaped  from  her  body  of  pain,  and  the  home 
was  broken  up. 

June  13  and  14. — Lectured  in  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  but  not  to 
large  audiences ;  15th,  in  Belvidere,  and  on  Sunday,  17th,  in 
Waukegan.  A  good  spiritual  atmosphere  ever  surrounded  this 
place,  for  its  best  citizens  were  converted  to  harmonial  religion. 
Via  the  cities  to  Beaverdam,  where  he  met  his  old  friends,  once  of 
Rockford,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archer,  and  had  a  pleasant  visit  and  good 
audience  in  the  evening,  and  on  the  22d  was  again  at  his  home  in 
Ceresco.  This  short  trip  had  been  made  that  the  wife  might  get 
ready  to  accompany  him  East  on  a  visit  to  her  paternal  home, 
with  the  younger  son.  The  elder  son  was  now  at  the  Spiritual- 
ists' Home  in  Bedford,  Michigan ;  the  daughter  had  taken,  and 
was  teaching,  a  school  in  an  adjoining  town ;  the  house  was  partly 
rented,  the  goods  were  packed  up,  and  preparations  soon  made  to 
\eave  the  slanders  to  a  free  circulation,  and  they  had  a  glorious 


250  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

run  after  he  and  the  family  were  gone.  All  was  soon  ready,  and 
on  the  28th  of  June  the  friends  collected  and  parted  with  the 
three,  and  they  started,  not  sure  of  a  return,  even  if  prospered,  for 
he  had  long  since  resolved  to  change  his  home,  or  rather  hers,  for 
one  more  congenial  to  their  views  and  feelings. 

Sunday,  July  1.  —  Lectured  at  Sheboygan  Falls,  and  recruited 
for  the  journey  ;  her  health  was  better  than  for  years  before,  but 
still  feeble.  The  Harmonial  Philosophy  had  wrought  in  her  great 
physical,  spiritual,  and  mental  changes,  which  had  changed  life 
from  a  burden  to  a  pleasure,  and  now  she  too  had  to  share  tho 
abuse  and  slanders  of  his  enemies.  No  sooner  were  they  out  of 
town  than  lies,  of  the  most  absurd  and  ridiculous  character,  were 
reported  about  them  ;  and  frequently,  while  on  the  journey,  where 
he  was  known  and  she  was  not  known,  were  remarks  made  about 
the  woman  he  had  travelling  with  him,  and  persons  heard  to  say 
they  did  not  believe  it  was  his  wife.  By  this  journey,  the  only 
one  in  which  he  had  been  accompanied  by  a  female,  he  was  long 
reported  as  travelling  with  strange  women  all  over  the  country. 
Never,  until  he  began  to  talk  and  write  about  the  abuse  of  the 
marriage  contract,  and  advocate  changes  that  would  release  only 
the  sufferers,  was  there  a  word  of  slander  against  his  moral  or 
social  character;  but  since  he  had  made  that  a  theme,  every  time 
he  was  seen  with  a  female  he  was  suspected  of  illicit  intentions. 
Both  were  now  free  and  happy,  and  these  slanders  did  not  reach 
their  souls,  but  usually  fell,  like  scalding  water,  on  those  who 
reported  them.  Speedily  they  journeyed,  by  boat,  to  Chicago, 
and,  after  a  short  stop  in  that  whirlpool  of  civilization,  by  rail 
to  Battle  Creek,  where  his  many  friends  were  soon  her  friends  also, 
and,  meeting  the  son  at  his  new  home  with  the  Cornells,  they  soon 
learned  of  his  attachment  to  the  place  and  people. 

While  here  the  Lone  One  bargained  for  an  acre  of  land,  and 
resolved  to  put  up  a  small  house  soon  as  he  could  do  so.  Soon 
after  this  purchase,  the  proprietors  surveyed  the  village  plats  of 
Harmonia,  and  his  proved  to  be  a  corner-lot,  opposite  the  school- 
house,  and  in  the  town  of  Battle  Creek,  with  the  road  between 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  251 

it  and  the  school-house,  a  town-line  road  dividing  it  from  Bed- 
ford. The  plat  is  on  a  beautiful  plain  of  light,  rich  soil,  and  each 
lot  has  one  acre  or  more.  The  Michigan  Central  Railroad  passes 
one  mile  north  of  the  school,  and  the  Kalamazoo  River  beyond, 
but  near,  the  track.  Battle  Creek  station  and  village,  one  of  the 
most  active,  enterprising,  thriving,  and  liberal  towns  in  the  state, 
is  five  miles  south-east  of  the  school,  and  the  mail,  and  other 
business  of  the  school  and  settlers,  is  still  done  there ;  for, 
although  the  place  had  been  long  settled,  and  was  not  new,  yet 
it  was,  and  is,  only  the  home  and  the  school  of  a  few  reformers. 
The  soul-and-body  devoted  H.  Cornell  had,  of  course,  been  abused, 
like  other  reformers  who  attempt  to  teach  without  permission 
from,  and  submission  to,  the  clergy.  But  he  was  not  a  man  to 
faint,  or  fail,  but  was  one  of  the  few  true  souls  with  whom  the 
Lone  One  felt  united  in  a  life-struggle  for  reform ;  and  he  now 
resolved  to  be  interested  in  the  school  and  its  progress.  Although 
he  had  no  dollars  to  invest,  and  no  religion  to  endorse  it  to  the 
pious,  yet  he  had  friends  not  a  few,  and  a  wide  and  extensive 
acquaintance  with  reformers,  and  as  much  hatred  and  enmity  in 
the  bosoms  of  the  wicked  and  superstitious  as  almost  any  man  in 
the  nation ;  and  both  of  these  were  necessary  and  useful  to  him 
and  the  school.  Leaving  this  new  home,  —  for  such  it  now 
became,  —  and  the  many  friends  in  Battle  Creek,  they  visited 
Jackson,  and  the  elegant  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Isman,  and  that 
best  of  families  and  ladies,  in  the  cottage  of  J.  Gr.  Wood ; 
roamed  through  state-prison,  full  of  pity  for  the  convicts,  which 
bore  the  wife's  heart  down  into  its  depths  of  sorrow,  for  she  was 
a  woman  of  deep  sympathy,  and  a  soul  that  was  ever  touched  by 
suffering  in  its  tenderest  chord.  "  I  will  never  visit  another  such 
place,"  said  she,  as  they  left  the  gate  and  entered  the  carriage 
with  the  happy  Mrs.  Isman  and  her  very  intellectual  mother. 
That  kindest  of  friends,  N.  Stone,  was  in  the  depot  at  Detroit, 
waiting  for  the  family  when  the  cars  drove  in  ;  and  soon  the  little 
boy,  full  of  life,  health,  and  animation,  "was  coasting  about  the 
hotel-home  of  this  excellent  family,  and  the  wife  found  such 


252  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

friends  as  she  can  never  forget  in  Mrs.  S.  and  daughters.  "  How 
much  they  seem  like  our  folks !  "  she  said,  as  they  retired. 

Sunday,  July  15. — The  three  lectures  were  well  attended, 
and  next  day  the  cars  were  whistling  down  the  Canada  Railway 
with  the  father,  mother,  and  boy,  two  of  them  the  same  that  fed 
on  salt  and  potatoes,  and  more  recently  on  slander  and  false- 
hood ;  and  the  father  the  same  that  had  committed  one  great  crime, 
for  which  he  had  suffered  all  his  life,  namely,  that  of  being  born 
of  an  unmarried  mother ;  and  the  same  who  had  slept  with  the 
cows  on  the  beds  made  warm  by  their  bodies,  had  been  sold  into 
sixteen  years'  bondage  because  he  was  motherless  and  never  had 
a  father  on  earth. 

July  18.  —  Roam  about  Niagara  Falls  and  Suspension  Bridge, 
a  happy  little  group,  enjoying  the  rich  scenery  and  magnificent 
mechanism  as  freely  as  if  they  were  rich  and  popular,  in  fortune 
and  fashion.  The  rainbow  hoop,  the  Maid  in  the  Mist,  the  stairs, 
the  waterfall,  and  the  Indians,  have  all  been  described  till  no 
further  changes  can  be  rung  on  them ;  and  we  will  pass  along 
down  Lake  Ontario  on  a  fine  boat,  and  smooth  water,  and  in  the 
morning  through  the  Thousand  Islands,  with  their  rocky  peaks, 
skirted  by  a  rich  green  shrubbery,  to  Ogdensburgh.  There  again 
take  to  the  whistling  horse,  and  be  put  "  over  the  road."  What 
a  country,  in  contrast  with  the  West,  meets  the  eye  on  the  North- 
ern road,  till  you  near  Champlain,  when,  of  a  sudden,  you  seem 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  smooth,  rich  farms  of  the  West ;  but 
the  line  is  short,  and,  ere  you  are  aware  of  your  location,  among 
the  mountains  of  New  York  and  New  England,  Rouse's  Point 
is  the  cry,  and  Champlain  smiles  in  your  face  —  for  she  never 
frowns. 

July  19,  1855,  5£  p.  M.  —  Cars  stop  at  Milton,  Vt.,  and  horse 
drinks,  snorts,  and  starts.  Three  seats  from  the  forward  end 
of  the  first  passenger-car  sit  four  persons  facing  each  other ; 
the  Lone  One  and  wife,  and  a  Methodist  man  and  wife  from 
Chelsea,  Mass.  Much  •  they  had  talked  of  religion  and  spirit- 
ualism, and  many  other  topics,  in  the  long  journey  by  boat  and 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  253 

car.  Their  window  was  up,  and  they  were  enjoying  the  fresh  air 
after  a  severe  shower,  and  admiring  the  lake  and  mountain 
scenery,  a  little  boy  was  watching  the  happy  faces  of  his  parents 
from  the  other  side  of  the  car,  when  a  sudden  and  terrible  explo- 
sion, a  crash,  and  convulsed  trembling  commotion,  with  hideous 
yells,  all  burst  upon  them.  "  Don't  stir  !  "  exclaimed  the  Lone 
One,  putting  out  his  hands  to  catch  his  wife,  who  was  pitched 
forward  on  to  him.  Only  an  instant,  and  the  car  full  of  living 
beings  was  at  rest  and  right  side  up  ;  but  without  was  horror. 
The  engine  and  tender  were  half  buried  in  mud  and  water  at  the 
foot  of  the  bank,  the  baggage-car  had  disengaged  itself  at  the 
couplings,  and  the  top  gone  down  one  side  and  wheels  the  other ; 
and  the  two  passenger-cars,  both  well  filled,  occupied  the  bank, 
but  not  track,  alone.  Directly  under  the  seats  of  the  four  was 
a  car-wheel,  and  under  the  wheel  the  mangled  body  of  Mr.  Bush, 
a  conductor  of  the  Burlington  train,  which  was  awaiting  him  ten 
miles  below.  The  engineer  was  under  his  machinery,  deep, 
dead;  and  the  fireman  lay  mangled  on  the  bank,  in  a  condition 
from  which  death  soon  released  him.  The  little  boy  and  pious 
woman  were  frightened  almost  to  a  loss  of  reason.  One  look  and 
word  from  the  father  brought  the  boy  to  a  state  of  calmness  ;  but 
the  woman  was  not  as  easily  calmed.  In  vain  the  two  spirit- 
ualists, both  calm  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  tried  to  pacify 
her ;  but  the  mangled  bodies  would  almost  convulse  her  with 
agony.  "  Why,"  said  the  Lone  One,  "  have  you  such  fear  of 
going  to  heaven  ?  Christians  ought  never  to  fear  death,  as  it  is 
their  only  gate  to  heaven,  and  a  sure  escape  from  further  risk 
of  hell.  You  had  better  change  your  religion  for  ours;  then  you 
will  not  fear  death  any  more,  for,  with  us,  he  is  conquered." 

"  Well,  it  is  strange,"  she  replied,  "  how  you  can  be  so  calm 
and  cheerful." 

Another  train  soon  came  to  their  relief,  and,  the  baggage  being 

collected,  with  the  passengers,  the  scene  of  the  boiler  explosion 

was  soon  out  of  sight,  and  the  three,  well  in  body  and  mind,  were 

sleeping  in  their  seats  as  they  wound  around  the  mountains  on  the 

22 


254  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

crooked  path  of  the  Vermont  Central  Road,  in  a  dark  night, 
and  brought  up  at  White  River  Junction  at  three  A.  M.,  when  they 
bedded  down  at  the  Junction  House,  and  the  frightened  Chris- 
tians got  more  calm  by  morning.  Next  day,  by  cars  to  Clare- 
niont,  and  stage  to  Newport,  they  reached  the  pious  and  once 
happy  home  of  her  brother.  The  girls  were  glad  ;  all  were  glad 
to  see  the  brother  and  uncle,  whom  they  had  never  met  before. 
They  liked  him  much  ;  but,  when  he  came  to  speak  in  the  Univer- 
salist  church,  and  with  effect,  then  the  priest  was  aroused,  and 
religion  in  danger.  Soon  these  relatives  were  supplied  with  the 
slanders  of  the  clergy,  one  of  whom,  a  man  who  said  he  had  been 
to  Ripon  and  preached  there,  going  so  far  as  to  tell  this  brother 
—  who,  of  course,  believed  it,  because  a  priest  told  it  —  that  a 
warrant  was  already  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff  of  his  county 
awaiting  his  return,  and,  no  doubt,  would  soon  lodge  him  in  jail 
or  prison  ;  when,  in  truth,  no  process,  civil  or  criminal,  had  ever 
been  issued  against  him,  and  never  a  complaint  made  against 
him,  except  by  slanderers.  A  few  months  after,  when  he  returned 
to  Ceresco  and  wrote  his  wife  from  there,  while  she,  still  visiting 
her  relatives  in  New  Hampshire,  asked  the  pious  brother  what 
he  thought  had  become  of  the  warrant  and  officer,  etc.,  "  0,"  said 
he,  "  I  suppose  he  has  settled  it."  But  this  was  as  true  as  any 
of  the  stories  circulated  by  his  religious  enemies  about  him, 
which  answered  their  end  here  and  in  some  other  places,  namely,  to 
prevent  his  influence  and  sentiments  reaching  those  pious  ones  who 
could  be  influenced  by  them.  It  was  not  so  at  the  mountain-home 
where  the  family  were  reared.  There  was  a  happy  home,  and  a 
welcome  from  the  souls  of  all  ever  greeted  them  both.  Their 
religion  partook  of  nature  and  humanity  ;  and  they  loved  God 
in  man,  and  showed,  by  doing  good  to  their  fellow-beings,  that 
they  were  relying  on  works,  not  words,  for  salvation.  A  few  days 
he  roamed  over  the  rocks,  feasting  on  wild  berries  and  pure  air, 
and  the  atmosphere  of  kindred,  new  to  him  ;  then  moved  along 
his  way,  and,  July  29,  lectured  three  times  in  Lawrence,  and 
found  a  hearty  welcome  among  the  many  friends  in  that  place. 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  255 

and  at  the  happy  home  of  his  cousin.  .Next  day,  in  Boston,  many 
familiar  faces  greeted  him ;  but  short  calls  were  the  order  now. 
Aug.  1,  he  landed  in  Portland,  where  several  days  were  spent 
most  pleasantly,  one  on  an  uninhabited  island  in  Casco  Bay  with 
a  picnic  party  —  a  romance.  All  strangers  to  him  in  the  morning, 
and  none  by  evening 

Sunday,  Aug.  5.  —  Three  lectures  in  City  Hall  used  up  the 
day.  Here  he  met  his  old  friend  from  Rockford,  111.,  Dr.  Has- 
kell,  and  they  journeyed  together  up  the  road  to  Gorham,  and  to 
the  top  of  the  White  Mountains  ;  the  seven  last  and  up-hill  miles 
on  foot  to  the  Tip-Top  House,  where  they  dined  on  the  8th  of 
August,  and,  in  a  beautiful  day,  stretched  their  vision  in  all 
directions,  trying  to  see  more,  when  every  look  was  a  feast.  The 
clouds  floated  in  beautiful  richness  around  the  summit  of  the 
great  rock-heap,  called  Mt.  Washington.  When  the  lungs  had 
feasted,  and  the  eye  was  tired,  he  took  leave  of  his  friend,  who 
was  intending  to  return  to  the  Glen  House  and  Gorham,  and 
pranced  nine  miles  on  foot  down  the  west  path  to  the  Notch  House, 
where,  late  and  weary,  he  arrived,  and  found  the  best  of  fare  for 
the  best  of  pay.  Registered  for  the  stage  at  four  next  morn- 
ing, and  when  the  porter  came  to  call  him  it  was  raining,  blow- 
ing, thundering,  and  lightning,  as  if  the  gods  of  wind  and  weather 
were  mad  wrth  fury.  "  Call  me  to-morrow  morning,  and  let  the  stage 
go,"  said  the  voice  within.  —  "  Ay,  ay,  sir  !  "  and  the  storm  beat 
on  undisturbed  by  the  stage.  When  the  morning  came,  he  walked 
around  the  Glen,  but  he  could  not  see  the  top.  To  him  it  was 
delightful  to  see  the  storm  beat  itself  to  pieces  against  the  ever- 
lasting rocks  and  profile  cliffs  of  that  romantic  spot.  With 
evening  came  the  sunshine ;  the  dancing  rills  came  sparkling 
and  tumbling  down  the  cliffs  in  rattling  joy  and  sportive  frolics, 
that  made  him  wish  everybody  could  see  them,  and  learn  with  him 
to  worship  Nature,  and  enjoy  her  heaven. 

Auyust  10.  —  Left  the  Notch,  and  at  night  slept  in  Concord,  at 
the  quiet  home  of  his  spiritual  brother  Aldiich,  and  on  Sunday, 
12th,  lectured  three  times  in  the  Universalist  church  of  Manches 


256  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

ter,  to  very  large  and  highly-delighted  audiences.  But  here,  as 
everywhere,  as  soon  as  he  began  to  exert  an  influence,  falsehoods 
were  immediately  peddled  to  counteract  it,  successfully  with  some, 
although  never  injuring  him,  nor  marring  his  happiness,  only  as  he 
saw  others  deterred  from  examining  the,  to  them  and  him,  most 
important  of  all  subjects.  Here  he  met  many  friends,  and  had 
one  of  the  best  of  visits;  then  whistled  along,  calling  on  friends 
in  Boston,  where  they  had  more  speakers  than  meetings,  in  hot 
weather.  17th,  at  Plymouth,  sailing  about  the  bay,  on  new  ves- 
sel, with  one  hundred  and  fifty  invited  guests,  mostly  ladies.  The 
captain  and  owner  being  a  spiritualist,  of  course  the  Lone  One 
and  the  ladies  had  an  invitation  to  a  ride,  and  it  was  delightful  in 
the  fine  breeze.  18th,  visited  Plymouth  Rock  and  Pilgrim  Hall, 
and  examined  the  relics  of  the  colony  and  his  ancestors,  and  the 
grave-yard  on  the  hill-top,  with  its  Puritanic  epitaphs,  and  rock 
head-stones  for  the  saints  and  the  rich  ;  the  graves  of  the  poor  he 
could  not  find,  except  the  new  or  recently-made  ones.  19th, 
Sunday,  lectured  twice  in  a  hall  to  fine  audiences,  at  this  Old  Col- 
ony home,  where  once  the  Puritans  had  all  the  religion  and  con- 
trol of  the  station;  but  intelligence  had  now  almost  crowded  it 
under  ground,  with  the  dead  bodies  of  those  who  once  defended  it 
with  law  and  force. 

August  20.  —  Return  to  Boston,  and  met  A.  J.  Davis  and  his 
happy  mate  at  the  Fountain  House.  "Ah,  Mary,"  said  he  "  thy 
hands  are  stayed  up  now,  even  to  reach  the  home  of  angels." — 
"  Yes,  I  am  happy,  but  I  feel  as  if  I  must  not  fold  my  arms  to 
rest,  but  work  for  the  great  cause  of  emancipation,  elevation,  puri- 
fication, and  development,  for  my  sex  and  the  race."  —  "  Yes,  and 
may  God  bless  and  speed  you  both  in  the  holy  mission  of  reform 
in  an  ungrateful  and  scornful  world." — "  Yes,"  says  Jackson, 
"  but  the  sun  shines  on  those  who  reach  the  mountain-top  both 
earlier  and  later  than  on  those  in  the  valley,  and  by  that  means 
we  have  begun  our  heaven  here."  —  "  Somehow,"  says  the  Lone 
One,  "  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  harmonial  home  shines  in  thy  souJ 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  257 

all  the  time,  lighting  and  warming  it  in  its  inner  temple,  where 
the  nettle-shaft  of  slander  cannot  reach." 

August  21.  —  Resting  in  the  beautiful  home  of  the  author  of 
the  "  Hen  Fever,"  in  Wyoming,  where  hangs  the  full-length  por- 
trait-present of  Queen  Victoria,  and  many  other  ornaments,  but, 
best  of  all,  the  happy  faces  of  wife  and  daughter.  The  slanders, 
started  so  long  before  at  Rlpon,  and  based  entirely  on  the  stolen 
letter  and  its  progeny,  had  now  assumed  a  shape  for  newspapers, 
and  were  bandied,  with  his  name,  about  the  city  papers  of  Boston 
and  New  York,  as  if  they  were  items  of  news.  Well,  many  peo- 
ple knew  that  his  reputation  must  be  impaired,  or  the  cause  of 
spiritualism  would  increase  in  every  place  he  visited,  and  such 
places  were  not  likely  to  be  few.  Even  the  New  York  Tribune 
soiled  its  columns  with  an  article  from  a  dirty  sheet  at  Oskosh, 
Wisconsin,  which  could  not  possibly  say  worse  things  about  him 
than  it  did  about  Greely  and  his  candidates  and  measures,  and 
with  the  editor  of  which  they  would  have  been  ashamed  to 
be  seen  in  the  street,  and  the  columns  of  which  would  be  no 
authority  with  the  Tribune  on  any  subject  but  against  spiritualism. 
A  note  from  the  Lone  One  inquired  of  Greely  the  reason  of 
this  slander,  and  required  a  correction  ;  which  was  readily  made, 
with  the  excuse  that  it  was  floating  through  the  press  unrefuted. 
So  it  ever  would  have  been,  in  all  papers  opposed  to  reform  ;  but 
the  Tribune,  the  newspaper  of  so  many  reformers,  ought  to  have,  at 
least,  the  slightest  evidence  before  it  slandered  a  person  whose  whole 
life,  and  means,  and  energies,  had  been  devoted  to  reforms ;  but 
it,  on  being  notified  of  its  position,  took  back  all  it  could,  without 
defending  spiritualism,  against  which  one  of  its  editors  had  a 
religious  spite  and  spleen  to  vent.  They  ought  to  have  known 
better  than  to  be  caught  in  this  trap,  when  they  were  themselves 
connected  in  this  same  slander  by  a  more  conservative  portion  of 
the  press.  Other  papers  he  did  not  notice,  for  he  knew  many  of 
them  were  not  read  to  find  truth,  and  that  few  believed  what  they 
saw  in  such  secular  and  sectarian  sheets  as  circulated  base  false- 
hoods, both  personal  and  general,  about  spiritualists. 


258  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

August  25.  —  His  wife  meets  him  at  Manchester,  and  they 
visit  the  quiet  home  of  Dr.  Hanson,  where  Susan  makes  every 
good  visitor  happy,  when  she  is  there.  Sunday,  26th,  lectured  three 
times  in  Granite  Hall  to  good  audiences,  but  not  as  large  as  in 
church.  28th,  they  visit  Lowell,  and  meet  A.  J.  and  M.  F. 
Davis,  and  the  four  have  one  of  the  little  social  circles,  where 
harmony  and  happiness  flows  like  a  river,  from  celestial  fountains. 
"  Now,"  said  the  Lone  One  to  his  mate,  "  I  have  fulfilled  one 
promise,  to  introduce  you  to  the  happiest  man  I  ever  saw,  and  one 
of  the  happiest  couples."  A.  J.  D.  lectured  in  the  eve,  and  thus 
for  the  first  time  she  heard  him  speak  before  an  audience.  Next 
they  visit  his  cousin  in  Lawrence,  where  she  found  another  happy 
home  and  couple. 

September  1.  —  The  harmonial  four  met  again  in  Boston,  at  the 
Fountain  House.  Sunday,  2d,  he  returns  to  Lowell,  and  lectures 
three  times  to  full  hall.  Next  they  visit  Salem,  and  the  widow 
Endicott's  neat  and  happy  home;  then  down  to  Lynn,  and  into 
Dungeon  Hock,  where  the  man  who  has  faith  in  spirits  like  "  a 
grain  of  mustard-seed  "  is  trying  to  remove  a  mountain  of  rock 
off  the  bodies  and  treasures  of  the  dead  pirates,  which  legends 
and  spirits  say  are  buried  in  the  cave  under  the  rock.  His  faith 
is  better  than  his  prospect.  Climb  the  High  Rock,  and  visit  the 
Hutchinsons  in  their  home,  and  she  looks  from  the  tower  where  he 
had  often  been,  over  the  bay  and  islands  and  Nahant,  &c. ;  visited 
Nuhunt,  and  heard  of  the  sea-serpent  from  brother  Buffum.  9th, 
lecture  in  Lynn,  to  small  audiences,  in  hot  days.  Next  they  visit 
Chelsea,  and  Capt.  Williams;  and  Boston,  and  Alvin  Adams; 
and  thus  the  mate  found  many  of  his  temporary  elegant  and 
happy  homes,  and  best  of  friends.  Walked  down  Cornhill,  and  in 
office,  and  he  introduced  her  to  W.  L.  Garrison,  and  thus  fulfilled 
another  promise,  to  introduce  her  to  the  most  Christ-like  man  in 
the  nation.  She  acknowledged  both,  and  enjoyed  much  these 
visits  and  acquaintances.  They  found  also  those  full-blown  souls, 
•J.  S.  Adams  and  Hattie.  She  was  soon  tired  of  sights  and  sounds  in 
Boston;  when  they  retired  to  the  elegant  home  of  his  friend  in 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  259 

Wyoming,  where  she  could  rest,  while  he  met  his  appointments  to 
lecture  iu  Stoneham  and  other  places.  There,  too,  they  found  the 
excellent  and  beautiful  family  of  Mr.  Mendum,  of  the  Boston  In- 
vestigator, and  she  had  some  pleasure  in  recounting  the  many  years 
this  had  been  their  family  paper,  and  ever  esteemed  and  respected. 

Sunday,  September  16.  —  Lecture  in  Reading  to  good,  but  not 
large  audiences.  17th,  she  returns  to  Newport,  and  he  spent  the 
week  in  Boston,  Lawrence,  and  other  places,  and  Sunday  at  Low- 
ell, —  lectured  three  times.  Found  some  of  the  Norris  family, 
one  of  the  nephews  of  Brackett,  and  Moses,  a  lawyer  of  some 
note  in  the  city,  and  a  Dr.  Hook,  with  whom  he  schooled  in  old 
Gilmanton ;  but  how  few  were  these  old  acquaintances  in  New 
England  !  25th,  he  reached  Newport,  and  was  again  at  the  old 
homestead  on  the  mountain.  Visited  some  friends,  and  on  Sun- 
day, 30th,  lectured  again  in  the  church,  and  Miss  A.  \V.  Sprague, 
trance-medium,  and  an  excellent  speaker,  spoke  in  evening ;  had 
good  meetings. 

October  3. —  He  bade  adieu  to  the  rocks,  and  homes,  and  wife, 
and  boy,  in  Newport,  and  leaned  westward,  toward  the  son  and 
daughter.  But  stopped  to  lecture  in  Claremont  one  eve  ;  then  to 
Woodstock,  and  met  the  two  Randalls,  both  of  whom  were  now 
doctors,  —  once  husband  and  wife  by  law,  now  free  by  decree.  She 
of  Philadelphia,  and  he  at  the  old  homestead,  settled,  divided  the 
property,  and  divorced ;  but  did  not  quarrel  about  it. 

Sunday,  October  1.  —  Lectured  in  church  at  South  Woodstock, 
to  very  intelligent  audience.  Next  day  rode  in  stage  with  very 
intelligent  lady,  Mrs.  Hutchens,  a  teacher  of  penmanship,  to  Bar- 
nard, where  he  met  some  good  friends.  Soon  passed  on  to  Bethel 
station,  and  backed  down  to  Lebanon,  New  Hampshire,  where  he 
had  appointments  to  lecture,  and  where  he  found  one  of  his  best, 
pleasantest  and  happiest  homes,  at  the  fine  residence  of  A.  Pushe 
and  E.  J.  Durand,  and  their  wives,  all  of  one  family,  and  one 
heart ;  and  the  happy  face  of  Minnie,  the  lovely  little  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Durand,  ever  after  welcomed  him,  as  one  of  her 
friends,  to  their  home  full  of  music.  He  sang : 


260  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

"  No  roving  foot  shall  crush  thee  here, 
No  busy  hand  provoke  a  tear." 

From  the  beautiful  village  of  Lebanon,  and  his  first  but  not 
last  visit,  he  moved  to  Montpelicr,  a  small,  but  very  aristocratic 
capital  of  Vermont,  where,  on  Sunday,  Oct.  14,  his  three  audi- 
ences were  mostly  composed  of  members  of  the  legislature,  which 
gave  him  three  of  the  most  intelligent  audiences  of  the  season,  to 
which  many  words  were  freely  spoken  and  a  fine  impression  made. 
Here,  for  the  first  time,  he  met  the  medium-poetess  and  teacher,  Mrs. 
Frances  0.  Hyzer,  and  her  sister  Carrie,  the  seer  of  beautiful  vis- 
ions. The  little  huddle  of  neat  cottages,  crowded  closely  on  the 
scanty  pattern  for  a  village  and  capital,  fairly  stuck  into  the  hill- 
side, and  the  high  hills  ready  on  either  side  to  come  down  and 
bury  up  the  place,  steeples,  aristocracy,  and  all,  when  the  scrip- 
tures shall  be  fulfilled  by  the  levelling  operation,  make  Montpeliar 
a  romantic  and  interesting  place.  Burlington,  Vergennes,  and 
Middlebury,  each  gave  or  received  a  call ;  and  East  Middlebury 
took  several  lectures,  while  he  visited  his  old  friends  at  the  home  of 
L.  C.  Hyde.  The  college  was  firm  as  a  granite  rock,  and  had 
about  as  much  life  and  progress  as  that  geological  specimen  of 
crystallization.  It  ought,  and,  for  the  good  of  the  race,  it  might 
as  well,  be  put  away  in  the  cabinet  of  curiosities,  as  a  fossil  of 
theology,  crystallized  by  science.  19th,  had  an  excellent  audi- 
ence in  Vergennes,  and  much  interest;  and  Sunday,  21st,  gave  three 
lectures  in  Burlington  to  intelligent  and  respectable  audiences. 
But  the  college  faculty  stood  aloof  in  great  dignity,  despising  the 
new  truths ;  and  Bishop  Hopkins,  driven  on  to  the  romantic  point 
of  land-in-the-lake,  quaked  and  shuddered  with  horror  at  the  near 
approach  of  the  Devil  to  so  many  mediums ;  and  John  Gr.  Saxe 
said  funny  words  in  poetry  about  modern  spirits  and  mediums, 
but  affected  great  reverence  for  similar  persons  and  events  of 
Bible  times.  Poor  soul  !  he  will  sing  more  truthfully  when  the 
shell  breaks,  and  he,  hatched  out,  can  sing  and  fly  at  the  same 
time. 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  261 

The  grove-church,  in  the  beautiful  and  romantic  Burlington  of 
Champlain,  was  already  leaning  toward  spiritualism,  and  the  old 
fogies  were  running  with  props  and  rests  to  stay  its  unstable  form, 
and  prevent  it  from  going  over ;  but  in  vain  —  it  had  started  never 
to  stop,  and  the  spirits  still  are  watching  and  aiding  it  in  the 
change.  Middlebury  took  two  lectures,  and  a  few  of  the  wild 
students  called  to  hear  about  the  Devil's  doings,  or  see  them,  and 
soon  found  the  Devil  was  in  their  theology  and  the  professors,  not 
in  this  lecturer.  Rutland,  24th,  he  met  his  old  friend  from  Bar- 
nard, with  his  daughter,  a  sister  of  Belle,  bound  for  Iowa,  to  teach 
and  find  a  new  home  with  old  friends.  Parted  with  her  father  with 
tears,  and  he  returned  to  his  home,  and  soon  after  removed  to  his 
new  home  over  the  valley  of  death,  while  she  was  far  away  in 
Iowa.  In  the  care  of  the  Lone  One,  she  took  her  first  ride  in  the 
cars  from  Rutland,  Vt.,  to  Burlington,  Iowa,  via  Troy,  N.  Y.,  to 
the  Falls  and  Wire  Bridge,  where  her  wild  and  happy  Green  Moun- 
tain heart  bounded  with  joy  and  admiration  of  nature's  magnificent 
scenery,  and  the  rivalry  of  art  in  her  bridge-contrast.  Satisfied 
with  gazing,  they  mixed  in  the  crowd  at  the  depot,  and  were  soon 
passing  Canada  towns,  and  over  the  ferry  at  Windsor,  and  at  his 
home  with  friend  Stone  in  Detroit,  where  they  rested  over  the 
Holy  Sabbath  for  him  to  preach,  and  hear  S.  J.  Finney,  who  was 
then  in  the  city,  doing  a  great  work  in  probing  theology. 

Monday,  29.  —  They  whistled  along,  and  when  Battle  Creek 
sounded  from  the  platform  he  stepped  off,  and  left  the  lonely  girl 
among  strangers,  far  from  home,  ticketed  from  Vermont  to  Iowa. 
"  Write  me  how  you  get  through."  —  "  Certainly ;  "  and  the  letter 
came,  saying  she  wept  at  the  thought  of  being  alone  among  strang- 
ers so  far  from  home.  A  kind  face  saw  her  weep,  and  came  to 
inquire  the  cause,  and,  on  learning  it,  replied,  "  Why,  we  are 
going  almost  to  Burlington,  and  came  from  New  England  also  ; 
my  son  will  see  to  thy  trunks,  and  thee  will  have  no  trouble  with 
them  ;  "  and  thus  grief  brought  relief  and  good  friends,  as  it  often 
does,  even  in  the  cars.  Next  morning  she  was  in  the  stage,  and 
at  noon,  at  Kossuth,  landed  at  the  door  of  her  friends,  where  a 


262  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

hearty  welcome  and  a  ready  school  greeted  and  employed  the  Ver- 
mont girl.  The  pious  guardians  of  public  morals  at  Ripon  and 
Ceresco  probably  never  heard  of  this  journey  and  company,  or  it 
would  have  furnished  the  best  load  of  fuel  they  ever  collected  for 
their  fires,  except  the  stolen  letter;  yet  he  never  saw  the  girl 
except  once  at  her  home  and  on  this  journey,  but  she  and  all  the 
family  are  eternally  his  friends,  as  are  all  true  and  pure  spirits, 
who  know  him  as  he  is,  a  defender  everywhere  of  honesty,  purity, 
poverty,  and  virtue.  The  glad  face  of  the  son  soon  met  him  at 
the  school,  and  assured  him  of  content  and  satisfaction  with  the 
new  home ;  and  they  renewed  arrangements  for  a  little  cottage  in 
the  old  garden-acre  of  what  was  once  a  part  of  David  Brown's 
farm,  now  of  Harmonia,  and  the  home  of  reformers.  The  daugh- 
ter had  closed  her  school  with  entire  satisfaction,  and  returned  to 
their  Ceresco  home,  where  she  was  mistress  of  her  part  of  the 
house,  and  guardian  of  the  effects  of  the  family,  but  quite  lone- 
some, and  not  happy  in  a  place  where  her  ears  were  constantly 
greeted  with  slander  and  gossip  about  the  beings  to  whom  her  soul 
was  devoted,  and  bound  in  stronger  ties  of  filial  affection  than  ever 
existed  in  the  hearts  of  bigots  or  the  slanderers ;  for  never  was 
there  a  stronger  attachment  existed  between  a  father  and  daughter 
than  between  these.  At  this  time,  and  ever  after,  he  left  the 
standing  offer  to  his  enemies,  that  he  would  cease  preaching  spirit- 
ualism whenever  they  would  produce  one  family  of  five  persons, 
like  his  own,  in  father,  mother,  and  three  children,  three  or  more 
of  whom  belonged  to  an  evangelical  church,  in  which  the  whole 
family  were  as  happy,  harmonious,  and  as  much  attached  to  each 
other,  as  his  were ;  and,  as  this  was  the  only  way  they  could  rea- 
sonably expect  to  silence  him,  some  thought  they  ought  to  try, 
but  those  who  knew  the  condition  and  relation  of  his  family  knew 
it  would  be  a  vain  effort,  for  such  religion  was  itself  a  barrier  to 
the  happiness  they  had  attained.  At  Jackson  and  Albion  he  had 
a  visit  with  his  excellent  friend  from  Detroit,  whose  soul  was  in 
the  sunlight  of  Divine  truth ;  his  lectures  were  well  attended,  espe- 
cially at  Albion,  where  Mrs.  Tuttle  had  done  so  much  work  for 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  263 

the  angels.  At  the  Michigan  Ceresco  he  met  some  old  friends, 
and  especially  one  true  and  tried  one  of  long  standing,  a  citizen 
of  the  Wisconsin  Ceresco,  in  A.  D.  Wright,  and  also  his  father's 
family. 

Nov.  9.  —  Fitted  out  his  son  for  teaching  during  winter,  and 
left  him  to  seek  a  school  in  Indiana,  and  moved  on  his  mission  to 
Union  City,  thence  to  Coldvvater,  and  met  Grace  Greenwood,  and 
her  mother  Clark,  and  others;  then  to  Adrian,  where,  Nov.  18th, 
he  gave  three  lectures,  and  found  his  old  homes  and  tried  friends, 
Martins  and  Chandlers,  with  ever-open  doors,  and  ready  efforts  to 
collect  audiences.  All  his  receipts  were  divided  between  the 
mother,  and  son,  and  daughter,  according  to  their  needs;  and  he 
moved  steadily  on,  with  the  same  economy  that  he  had  exhibited 
through  life. 

Nov.  20.  —  In  Port  Huron  he  began  a  course  of  lectures,  sent 
for  and  sustained  by  a  devoted  soul  in  Dr.  Noble ;  and,  on  the  28th, 
returned  to  Detroit,  made  a  short  and  ineffectual  effort  the  second 
time  at  Pontiac,  but  it  was  dark  yet  in  that  place.  Finney  was  cul- 
tivating Detroit,  and  he  moved  on  to  Ypsilanti,  and  thence  to  Ann 
Arbor.  In  each  found  a  few  good  friends,  some  false  ones,  and 
many  enemies,  and  became  more  satisfied  than  ever  that  selfish 
persons  could  not  become  true  spiritualists,  at  least  in  soul ;  found 
a  noble  soul  in  his  old  infidel  friend,  H.  De  Garmo,  and  others  in 
E.  Sampson  and  J.  Volland,  etc. 

Dec.  16,  Sunday.  —  Three  lectures  were  well  attended  in  Ann 
Arbor ;  many  students  of  the  university  were  in  attendance,  be- 
traying a  liberality  not  to  be  found  at  many  colleges.  Incidents 
which  occurred  in  visits  and  circles  might  be  more  interesting  than 
these  notices,  but  this  was  the  public  labor  of  the  Lone  One,  and 
is  given  more  to  show  the  contrast  with  his  early  life  and  condi- 
tion than  for  its  interest  to  the  reader. 

Sunday,  23.  —  Lecture  three  times  in  Adrian ;  well  received 
by  many  and  increasing  friends.  Next  stay  was  in  Perrysburgh, 
Ohio,  a  beautiful  town  on  the  Maumee,  above  the  Toledo  of  sin 
and  sickness,  money  and  rum,  business  and  confusion.  At  Perrys- 


264  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

burgh  he  found  one  of  the  best  of  homes  at  Hon.  A.  Smith's, 
and  there,  while  giving  a  course  of  lectures,  the  year  died  at  the 
close  of  Dec.  31st,  leaving  him  in  this  home  not  the  orphaned  and 
friendless  boy,  but  the  popular  and  successful  lecturer ;  not  the 
victim  slain  by  slander  and  falsehood,  but  the  soul  triumphant 
over  misfortune  and  persecution,  by  energy,  and  a  clear  conscience, 
and  unvarying  toil.  Now  he  knew  that 

"  Love  is  to  the  human  heart 

What  sunshine  is  to  flowers  ; 

And  friendship  is  the  fairest  thing 

In  this  cold  world  of  ours." 

And 

"  When  thy  struggling  soul  hath  conquered, 

When  the  path  lies  fair  and  clear, 
When  thou  art  prepared  for  heaven, 
Thou  wilt  find  that  heaven  is  here." 


SECTION    IV. 

1856.  —  COSMOPOLITE. ITINERATING. 

TO    THE   UNSATISFIED. 

Why  thus  longing,  why  forever  sighing 
For  the  far-off,  unattained,  and  dim, 

While  the  beautiful,  all  around  thee  lying, 
Offers  up  its  low  perpetual  hymn? 

Wouldst  thou  listen  to  its  gentle  teaching, 
All  thy  restless  yearnings  it  would  still  : 

Leaf,  and  flower,  and  laden  bee,  are  preaching, 
Thine  own  sphere,  though  humble,  first  to  fill 

Poor  indeed  thou  must  be,  if  around  thee 
Thou  no  ray  of  light  and  joy  canst  throw  ; 

If  no  silken  cord  of  love  hath  bound  thee 
To  some  little  world,  through  weal  and  woe  ; 

If  no  dear  eye  thy  fond  love  can  brighten, 
No  fond  voices  answer  to  thine  own  ; 


LIEE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  265 

If  no  brother's  sorrow  thou  canst  lighten 
By  daily  sympathy  and  gentle  tone. 

Not  by  deeds  that  win  the  world's  applauses  — 
Not  by  works  that  give  thee  world  renown  — 

Not  by  martyrdom,  or  vaunted  crosses, 

Canst  thou  win  and  wear  the  immortal  orown. 

Daily  struggling,  though  unloved  and  lonely, 

Every  day  a  rich  reward  will  give  ; 
Thou  wilt  find  by  hearty  striving  only, 

And  truly  loving,  thou  canst  truly  live. 

Jan.  1,  1856.  —  The  Lone  One  in  Ohio,  lecturing;  the  wife 
and  boy  in  Newport,  N.  H.,  visiting.  The  eldest  son  in  Indiana, 
teaching;  the  daughter  in  Ceresco,  Wis.,  in  school,  at  their  home, 
boarding  with  Dr.  Fletcher,  then  occupying  the  house  of  the  Lone 
One,  but  who  has  since  moved  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  where 
he  has  not  yet  begun  to  keep  house,  because  his  wife  has  not 
crossed  over  yet.  Thus  one  of  the  best-united  families,  each 
reading  letters  every  week  from  all  the  others,  began  the  year  far 
apart ;  but  we  shall  call  the  roll  before  the  year  is  out,  at  the 
new  home.  New  Year's  morning  in  Perrysburgh ;  evening  in  Ely- 
ria,  where  a  course  of  lectures  were  given  to  intelligent  hearers. 

Jan.  8.  —  Cleveland,  and  met  Cora  and  Hattie  Scott,  from  Buf- 
falo"; Cora  had  now  become  one  of  the  finest  and  best  trance-me- 
diums of  the  nation,  and  astonished  even  believers,  often,  with  her 
angelic  ministrations.  Met  the  Koons,  not  from  the  tree-tops,  but 
from  Athens,  and  saw  the  mediumship  which  brought  forth  such, 
wonders  at  the  celebrated  "  Koons'  rooms ; "  met  his  devoted 
friend,  L.  E.  Barnard,  who  published  for  him  two  thousand  copies 
of  a  pamphlet,  containing  three  lectures,  which  were  soon  sold, 
and  a  demand  for  more  sent  forth ;  but  it  could  not  be  answered, 
for  it  was  not  stereotyped.  Met  H.  F.  M.  B.,  still  struggling  in 
bondage,  and  waiting  for  freedom  impatiently,  which  she  soon  after 
found,  with  nothing  else  but  the  greater  scorn  of  the  deeper  stained. 

Sunday,  13. —  Lecture  in  church  in  Ravenna;  next,  Akron, 
and  the  excellent  friends  on  the  hill  had  a  visit ;  large  audiences 
23 


206  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

attended  the  call  in  both  villages ;  next  in  Cleveland,  —  small 
audiences  in  the  evenings;  and  on  Sunday,  27th,  in  Litchfield,  — 
a  full  house  three  times  listened  to  his  version  of  the  gospel. 
Glad  faces  always  meet  him  in  that  town  with  a  welcome.  Con- 
stant calls  and  lectures,  nearly  every  evening,  now  occupied  his 
time  on  the  Western  Reserve,  where  the  new  philosophy  was  and 
is  as  prevalent  and  well  understood  as  in  any  part  of  the  nation. 
The  people  of  that  region  will  ever  bear  testimony  to  his  success 
and  ability,  for  there  he  is  well  known  both  as  a  man  and 
speaker. 

At  Wellington,  February  24th,  an  impulse  was  given  to  the 
cause  that  has  not  been  lost,  nor  is  it  likely  to  be ;  and,  on 
the-  25th,  he  gave  the  closing  lecture  of  a  season  course,  for  a 
society  in  Mansfield,  which  had  mostly  Christian  officers.  It 
was  a  bitter  pill  for  them,  but  delightful  to  the  audience,  many 
of  whom  joined  in  a  call  for  him  to  come  soon  after  and  give  a 
course ;  but  other  engagements  prevented  then  and  ever  since, 
but  may  not  always.  In  Cleveland,  March  4th,  message  from 
a  spirit  which  escaped  by  apoplexy  from  the  beautiful  form,  a 
young  lady,  whose  body  he  watched  while  the  spirit  was  formed 
and  met  its  parent  over  the  corpse;  a  stranger  to  him  till  the 
scene  occurred,  but  not  after. 

February  5.  —  Met  with  William  Denton  and  others  in  conven- 
tion, at  Dayton,  and  here  found  some  of  the  best  and  truest  friends 
he  ever  found.  Gave  a  course  of  lectures,  and  found  a  course  of 
friends  to  himself  and  the  angels.  We  shall  not  name  them  here, 
but  he  will  not  soon  cease  to  name  them.  This  city,  already  one 
of  the  strongholds,  became  one  of  his  most  important  stations,  and 
soon  the  home  of  William  Denton,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  log- 
ical and  lucid  public  defenders  of  the  Harmonial  Philosophy. 
Next  visit  was  at  Harveysburg,  Warren  Co.,  Ohio.  Here  he  met 
the  poor  old  man,  who,  when  young,  learned  to  preach,  and  fol- 
lowed it  until  he  found  the  doctrine  was  not  true ;  and  they  fed 
him  and  his  family  for  his  labor ;  and  when  his  honesty  compelled 
him  to  cease  preaching,  they  turned  him  off  to  starve.  But  ha 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE    LONE    ONE.  267 

was  able  to  keep  souls  and  bodies  together,  in  his  family,  by  un- 
wearying toil  for  scanty  pay.  At  his  (Alfred  Carders')  home  he 
found  more  love  and  more  poverty  than  in  any  home  he  visited 
in  the  West.  A  lovely  daughter,  of  twenty-two  years,  was  wasting 
and  almost  gone  with  consumption,  and  to  her  he  bent  his  steps  and 
words  every  day ;  cheered,  comforted,  consoled,  and  loved  her  as  if 
she  were  his  own  daughter;  magnetized  her  both  in  body  and 
spirit,  and,  when  he  went  away,  sent  a  comforter  to  her  from  the 
spirit-friends  that  visited  him  from  the  other  sphere,  who  told  her 
to  be  of  good  cheer,  and  she  should  soon  be  with  them  in  heaven. 
And  she  was  soon  with  them,  and  often  came  to  him  to  thank  and 
bless  him  for  the  cheering  words  in  her  last  days  of  earth,  and  to 
urge  him  to  console  and  comfort  her  dear  parents.  Martha's 
name  often  came  to  him  from  stranger  lips,  and  often  does  she 
visit  him  when  alone,  and  awaken  him  from  sleep  to  whisper 
peace,  and  joy,  and  love,  from  her  happy  home,  where  the  love  she 
cherished  and  cultivated  here,  where  she  had  little  else,  has  made 
her  rich  indeed,  while  many  are  poor  about  her  who  had  much 
else,  and  little  or  no  love,  while  here.  The  happy  and  excellent 
home  of  Valentine  Nicholson  cannot  be  forgotten  either  by  this  or 
other  visitors  who  have  found  its  pleasant  atmosphere  and  breathed 
it. 

March  15.  — The  journal  says,  Lecture  in  the  dark  pit;  but  it 
must  be  a  mistake ;  although  no  doubt  he  will,  if  the  orthodox 
enemies  succeed  in  sending  him  there.  It  was  in  Waynesville 
he  lectured,  and  that  is  not  very  near  the  pit.  although  they  have 
been  using  brimstone  in  their  pulpits  many  years,  and  it  is  dark 
as  Egypt  theologically  and  metaphysically,  and  will  ever  be  so 
while  it  depends  on  brimstone  light  from  pulpits.  Gave  a  course  of 
lectures  in  Marion,  in  a  church,  to  large  audiences,  and  planted  the 
cause  permanently  there.  Next  course  was  given  in  a  Methodist 
church  in  Geneva,  Ohio,  to  good  audiences  of  intelligent  hearers. 
Found  excellent  homes  and  best  of  friends  in  Jefferson,  at  the 
homes  of  Hon.  B.  F.Wade  and  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  whose  liberality 
and  intelligence  had  led  them  early  to  investigate  this  philosophy 


268  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    0,<J3. 

and  embrace  it.  At  Andover,  Ohio,  a  full  course  of  lectures,  in  a 
cliurch,  met  the  demand,  and  supplied  it  well.  Here  the  priests 
came  to  hear  and  talk,  but  they  soon  found  they  had  the  hot  end 
of  the  stick,  and  quickly  let  it  go  and  set  their  devil  on,  while 
they  ran  off  shouting  "  Free-Love,"  because  that  was  the  best 
subject  to  arouse  the  mob-guardians  of  public  morals.  But  there 
is  not  enough  liquor  used  in  Ashtabula  Co.,  Ohio,  to  enable 
the  haters  of  reform  to  get  up  a  mob.  The  most  quiet  and  or- 
derly audiences  ever  attend  lectures  in  this  county ;  for  it  has  a 
most  intelligent  and  liberal  population,  equalled  by  very  few 
counties  in  the  nation.  Visited  several  old  stations,  and  lectured 
successfully  everywhere.  The  demand  ever  increased  for  his  ser- 
vices. Made  new  points  continually,  and  among  the  important 
and  permanent  ones  was  Milan,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  villages 
in  the  state,  and  with  a  very  intelligent  population,  and  hence  well 
fitted  for  the  new  philosophy.  Here  he  found  several  families  of 
the  best  friends  he  met  in  the  state,  and  ever  after  loved  to  visit 
the  place.  Honest,  earnest,  devoted,  and  unswerving  in  the  cause, 
were  some  of  the  friends  here,  and  hence  the  work  went  steadily 
on. 

Sunday,  May  4.  —  Lectured  in  church  at  Clyde,  and  stationed 
with  an  excellent  brother,  the  Universalist  preacher  (Mr.  Brown). 
Found  him  a  true  man,  and  a  real  philanthropist  in  deed,  rather 
than  in  word.  Made  a  point  at  Fremont,  with  a  firm  and  true 
friend  in  Judge  Justice. 

May  8.  —  Landed  at  his  Adrian  home,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
where  a  neat  house,  and  open  door,  and  cordial  greeting,  were  ever 
ready.  Here  he  met  his  son,  whose  schools  had  closed,  and  with 
him  visited  the  university  at  Ann  Arbor;  and  on  the  12th  they 
reached  their  new  home,  and  laid  out  the  plans  and  work  of  build- 
ing the  house,  etc.  Hardened  his  hands  to  labor,  and  rested  the 
brain  for  a  time,  but  lectured  Sundays,  and  occasionally  even- 
ings Visited  Allegan  and  Otsego,  and  gave  lectures  in  each. 

June  6. —  Deliver  address  at  commencement.  Had  a  fine  day, 
and  excellent  time  and  exercises,  and  many  friends  from  a  distance 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  269 

in  attendance  ;  among  them  his  excellent  and  much -esteemed  me- 
dium-friend from  Detroit,  whose  soul  dwelt  still  in  the  sunshine 
of  the  spheres. 

On  the  7th  he  was  in  Chicago,  at  the  home  of  his  Higgins 
brother ;  and  Sunday,  the  8th,  lectured  twice  in  Harmony  Hall ; 
and  on  the  10th  reached  his  Ceresco  home,  and  anxious  and  loving 
daughter,  whose  overjoyed  heart  bounded  with  unspeakable  joy. 
As  she  sprang  to  embrace  him  when  he  alighted  from  the  stage, 
the  driver  held  up  to  let  the  passengers  see  the  expression,  then 
remarked  to  them, 

"That  \s  the  Free-Love  home  !     They  are  free  lovers !  ". 

A  laugh  on  the  passing  winds  swept  by.  But  he  took  no  notice 
of  the  remark ;  for  he  had  learned  Sir  Walter  Scott's  rule  of 
conversation,  which  many  others  ought  to  learn.  Thus  : 

"  Conversation  is  but  carving : 
Give  to  each  guest  just  enough  ; 
Let  him  neither  starve  nor  stuff ; 
Give  him  always  of  the  prime, 
And  but  a  little  at  a  time." 

The  family  to  whom  he  had  leased  his  house  had  moved  out  of 
it,  and  out  of  the  state ;  and  his  agent  had  rented  a  part  of  the 
tenement  to  two  widowed  sisters,  a  few  weeks  before  his  return. 
This  furnished  ample  material  for  the  Christians  and  loafers  to 
make  up  the  report,  and  circulate  it,  that  he  had  taken  his  wife 
to  her  friends  and  abandoned  her,  and  returned  to  live  with  these 
two  widows,  because  they  too  were  spiritualists,  and  of  his  ac- 
quaintances. The  story  took  well  with  the  Christian  endorsement, 
but  soon  died,  like  all  the  others,  none  of  which  had  a  better  found- 
ation; but  it  lasted  a  few  weeks,  with  a  modification  that  charged 
him  with  giving  them  the  rent,  and  staying  with  them  nights  while 
there ;  which,  although  his  daughter  was  there  all  the  time,  was 
negatived  by  the  facts  that  they  paid  the  rent  in  full  to  the  agent, 
and  he  did  not  stay  in  the  house  a  single  night,  nor  more  than 
one  evening  till  ten  o'clock,  during  his  stay  in  the  place,  which 
23* 


270  LIFE-LINE    OF    THE    LONE    ONE. 

was  shortened  to  the  least  time  necessary  to  pack  up  and  dispose 
of  his  goods  and  business,  for  a  move.  But  it  was  of  no  con- 
sequence about  the  facts.  Like  the  wolf  and  lamb,  in  the  fable, 
when  the  wolf  accused  the  lamb  of  contaminating  the  water  which 
the  wolf  was  about  to  drink,  "  Ah  ! "  said  the  lamb,  "  but  it  runs 
from  you  to  me  !  "  —  "  No  matter  ;  your  ancestors  were  guilty, 
and  you  must  pay  the  penalty  by  death."  So  of  him  ;  no  matter 
whether  true  or  not,  he  is  a  spiritualist,  and  must  be  slandered. 
How  could  he  prove  he  had  not  taken  his  wife  to  her  friends 
and  left  her,  and  now  come  to  sell  his  goods  and  move  away? 
Of  course  he  had  broken  up  housekeeping,  and  his  family  was 
destroyed,  showing  one  more  of  the  terrible  effects  of  spiritualism. 
But  on  Sunday,  June  15,  many  of  his  old  friends  collected  to 
hear  him  lecture,  and  grieved  at  his  moving  away  from  the  valley. 
One  more  incident  at  this  time  furnished  also  material  for  abuse 
and  falsehood,  most  of  which,  in  this  case,  came  from  the  side  of 
those  who  chanced  to  be  "  Free  Lovers  ;  "  for  he  received  as  heavy 
shots  from  that  side  as  from  the  other.  A  fine,  intelligent  girl  of 
fourteen,  a  schoolmate  of  his  daughter,  whose  father  was  in  the 
spirit-world,  and  mother  a  cripple,  on  charity,  was  struggling  day 
and  night  to  keep  her  place  in  school,  by  taking  washing,  or  any 
honorable  work.  A  temporary  citizen,  who  came  to  sojourn  with  a 
fine-looking  and  intelligent  lady-companion,  both  strangers  to  the 
Lone  One,  had  been  coaxing  and  teasing  this  girl  to  leave  her  school 
and  go  with  him,  as  an  "  affinity,"  to  the  new  home  in  prospect  in 
Kansas.  She  had  not  consented,  but  her  destitute  situation,  and 
want  of  sympathy  and  love,  had  some  influence  in  his  favor,  and 
she  communicated  the  facts  to  her  friend,  the  daughter  of  the 
Lone  One,  who  implored  her  father  to  try  to  save  and  aid  her ; 
which  he  at  once  did  successfully,  bringing  from  her  the  expres- 
sion, in  tears,  "  You  are  the  first  man  that  ever  talked  to  me  like 
a  father  since  mine  died  ! "  and  this  she  often  after  remarked  to 
others.  She  broke  the  magnetic  chord  of  the  stranger,  who  was 
very  angry  at  the  one  who  caused  it,  impugning  his  motives,  and 
charging  him  with  the  same  object  himself  had  in  view.  This 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  271 

made  a  good  story,  and  ran  wide  and  well,  and  all  the  better 
because  it  came  from  an  enemy  of  marriage.  But  he  saved  the 
girl,  and  had  and  still  has  her  blessings,  and  those  of  her  spirit- 
father  and  earthly  mother;  and,  what  was  more  to  him,  the 
deeper  devotion  of  his  daughter,  who  ever  esteemed  and  loved  the 
girl  as  a  sister.  He  directed  her  to  go  to  her  friends  and  stay  till 
he  could  find  means  and  a  place  for  her  in  his  family  and  the 
school,  where  she  could  complete  her  education  ;  and,  although  he 
did  not  see  her  again  for  more  than  a  year,  yet,  by  correspondence 
and  the  little  aid  he  could  afford  her,  she  kept  steadily  the  course 
he  advised,  ever  feeling  towards  him  the  affection  of  a  child.* 
This  was  one  of  the  basest  acts  of  his  life  in  the  eyes  of  his  ene- 
mies, and  one  that  afforded  him  much  joy  and  satisfaction,  and 
brought  him  the  approbation  of  angels ;  as  did  many  others  that 
brought  curses  and  slander  on  earth. 

On  the  19th  he  and  his  daughter  bade  adieu  to  the  valley,  and 
its  scenes,  and  citizens,  and  with  a  load  of  movable  effects  reached 
the  cars  at  Waupen,  and  via  Iron  Ridge  soon  reached  Milwaukee. 
Thence  by  boat  to  Chicago,  where  the  goods  were  sent  forward  to 
the  reach  of  the  son  at  Harmonia,  while  the  father  and  daughter 
stayed  in  Chicago,  for  him  to  give  a  course  of  lectures  to  small 
but  intelligent  audiences.  Here  the  daughter  also  found  a  home, 
and  the  best  of  friends,  with  the  Judson  and  Mary  Higgins. 

June  30.  —  The  daughter  and  father  reached  the  new  home, 
and  met  the  happy  son.  She  was  pleased,  and  many  who  met  her 
loved  her,  as  her  friends  do  everywhere ;  for  she  had  much  of  the 
ardent,  enthusiastic,  and  affectionate  spirit  of  her  father,  and  was 
ever  said  to  be  like  him.  She  ever  was  his  pet,  fond  and  playful 
as  a  child  with  him,  even  to  womanhood.  She  was  soon  in  the 
new  garden,  harvesting  the  ripe  fruit,  happy  and  highly  pleased 
with  the  prospect  of  a  new  home,  where  she  hoped  the  slanders 
of  the  Ripon  loafers  would  not  reach  her  ears ;  for  she  was  still 
sensitive,  although  she  saw  that  they  had  no  effect  on  her  father, 
*nd  that  he  was  the  happiest  man  whom  she  ever  saw. 

*  She  is  now  in  liis  family,  with  his  daughter. 


272  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

Once  more  the  Lone  One  took  up  the  laboring  oar,  and  doubled 
teams  with  his  son,  to  urge  on  the  work  on  the  new  house  (a  small 
cottage,  sufficient  to  answer  until  he  could  sell  the  Wisconsin 
home).  Early  and  late  he  toiled,  and  hardened  to  labor,  until 
July  llth,  when  again,  with  the  daughter,  he  journeyed  onward 
to  Adrian.  Of  all  the  good  friends  who  urged  him  to  leave  the 
daughter  with  them,  while  he  went  East  for  the  mother,  he  selected 
the  one  at  the  neat  little  home  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  in  Adrian, 
where  the  demand  for  children  was  greater  than  the  supply, —  a 
reverse  of  the  usual  condition  in  marriage,  —  and  where  the  age 
had  long  since  put  an  end  to  all  expectation  of  little  ones.  Here 
he  left  her  with  a  real  aunt  and  uncle,  whose  kindness  never  will 
be  forgotten  by  father  or  daughter,  while  memory  allows  such  acts 
to  last. 

Sunday,  July  13.  — Lectured  in  Adrian  to  good  audiences,  and 
on  Monday  returned  to  his  son  and  the  new  home,  where  he  toiled 
on  till  July  23d.  Thence  over  the  way  to  Burlington,  Vt.,  where 
he  met  the  old  friends,  and  on  Sunday,  the  27th,  lectured  in  that 
fine  town  to  a  small  .audience.  Met  the  warmest  and  best  recep- 
tion he  ever  met  in  the  place,  and  on  the  29th  he  reached  his  wife 
and  boy,  at  the  mountain  home  in  Newport,  happy  as  happy  could 
be,  at  the  expected  meeting.  The  relatives  glad  and  happy  to  see 
him,  all  except  the  brother,  whose  religious  zeal  was  bordering  on 
frenzy,  and  had  almost  destroyed  his  naturally  kind  heart  and 
good  humor. 

Sunday,  Aug.  3.  —  Lectured  in  the  chapel  in  the  village,  where 
more  pride  and  ignorance  than  knowledge  and  wisdom  prevented 
many  from  attending.  But  the  few  did  hear,  and  understand,  and 
the  good  seed  was  sown.  The  ball  set  in  motion,  the  car  moved 
on. 

Sunday,  Aug.  10. — Three  lectures  in  Unitarian  church  in 
Athol,  Mass.,  to  large,  intelligent,  and  attentive  audiences,  and 
left  with  many  blessings,  and  requests  to  return  soon  as  possible. 
Boston,  Chelsea,  Mt.  Auburn,  &c.,  had  his  time  and  attention  for  a 
few  days,  with  excellent  friends  and  best  of  fare,  till  the  Hth, 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  273 

when  a  grove  was  his  canopy,  a  picnic  party  his  audience,  from 
Lowell  and  Lawrence  —  happy  day,  soon  lost  from  all  but  memory. 

Sunday,  Aug.  17. —  A  large  hall  in  Lawrence  was  well  filled 
three  times,  to  listen  to  his  words  on  the  life  to  come  after  this. 
Lowell  was  next  the  resting-place,  at  the  home  of  J.  F.  Evans, 
where  we  left  him  when  we  finished  this  narrative,  in  September, 
1857. 

On  Sunday,  24th,  three  audiences  collected,  the  last  in  Hun- 
tington  Hall,  where  more  then  eighteen  hundred  people  assembled 
to  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Lone  One,  the  same  poor,  despised 
orphan  of  the  mountains.  But  this  was  not  the  largest,  for  he 
had  several  times  addressed  over  two  thousand  people,  and  felt 
appreciated  by  his  audiences.  Made  many  new  friends  at  Lowell, 
at  this  visit,  and  then  left  them  for  Manchester,  where  he  mingled 
with  the  great  political  crowd  for  a  day ;  then  moved  to  Concord, 
to  meet  his  wife  and  boy,  and  go  on  to  Lebanon,  to  the  happy 
home  before  referred  to,  and  to  meet  there  several  evening  ap- 
pointments. 

Aug.  29,30,31.  —  Quartered  with  the  preacher  at  South 
Royalton,  Vt.,  where  they  attended,  and  he  took  active  part  in  the 
state  convention  of  spiritualists  and  mediums ;  and  to  them,  and 
many  others,  it  was  the  happiest  meeting  of  their  life.  Fifteen 
hundred  people  with  every  chord  of  their  beings  beating  in  har- 
mony and  happiness  is  not  a  scene  often  met  with  in  this  turbu- 
lent world ;  but  it  could  be  seen  on  Sunday  at  this  convention. 
It  was  a  tearful  parting  to  some,  but  not  consequently  unhappy. 
They  went  to  their  homes  better,  and  happier,  for  this  glorious 
time  of  spiritual  feasting.  Many  speakers  and  mediums  were  in 
attendance,  and  none  more  happy,  and  gladly  received,  than  the 
Lone  One.  0,  what  a  contrast  in  his  life,  and  what  still  greater 
contrast  between  the  feelings  of  these  appreciating  friends  and  the 
slandering  enemies  of  him !  The  angels  were  ever  with  him,  and 
approving  his  life  and  actions,  and  most  those  acts  which  the  enemies 
most  vilified.  Next  they  spent  a  week  in  a  visit  at  the  beautiful 
Eden  home  of  his  friend  in  Essex,  while  he  lectured  in  WiUiston, 


274  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

Essex,  and  Burlington ;  and  she  rested,  for  the  long  level  of  track 
and  water,  over  which  they  made  rapid  speed,  and  pleasant  trip, 
to  Detroit,  to  meet  again  that  best  of  friends,  the  Landlord-spirit- 
ualist. 

Sept.  11.  — The  three  were  in  Battle  Creek,  all  safe;  and  soon 
the  fourth,  the  eldest  son,  was  with  his  mother  and  brother  —  a  joy- 
ous group,  with  the  daughter  still  out,  but  near,  and  soon  to  come 
into  the  renewed  family  circle  in  the  new  home.  The  house  was 
not  yet  in  readiness,  and  again  his  hands  were  in  the  work,  press- 
ing it  to  completion,  aiding  the  son  and  workmen.  All  covered 
with  rags  and  mortar,  one  day,  while  plastering  his  house  (for  this 
he  did  himself),  he  was  called  by  the  professor  to  go  over  to  his 
room,  and  meet  a  stranger  who  had  called  to  see  him.  Without 
a  change  he  walked  to  the  room,  and  met  a  professor  of  a  medical 
college,  who  had  heard  him  lecture,  and  admired  him,  and  called 
to  see  him.  It  was  a  fine  joke,  and  enjoyed  by  both  then,  and  at 
a  subsequent  meeting,  when  he  was  again  on  duty. 

"  Now,"  said  the  professor,  "  I  see  why  you  are  the  favorite 
with  the  masses.  You  do  not  despise  toil,  and  cannot  be  ashamed 
of  any  man,' however  low  his  place  or  calling."  —  "That  is  so," 
he  replied,  "  and  I  must  tell  you  how  I  sometimes  talk  to  people. 
I  called  on  a  friend  in  the  East  not  long  ago,  who  was  a  hard- 
working man,  with  near  a  dozen  children,  and  large  farm  well 
stocked.  His  first  wife  had  been  worn  out  by  hard  work  and 
raising  babies,  —  mostly  by  the  latter,  —  and  I  asked  him  what  he 
lived  for."  —  "You  tell,"  said  he.  —  "Well,"  said  I,  "  if  you 
make  me  tell,  I  must  judge  by  appearances ;  and  I  should  say  to 
work,  to  eat,  to  sleep,  to  raise  children,  to  get  rich,  then  die  and 
rot  and  be  forgotten,  except  by  the  children,  half  of  whom  will 
curse  you  for  bringing  them  into  existence  (for  they  will  lay  it  to 
you,  and  not  to  God),  with  diseased  bodies,  to  drag  out  a  miserable 
existence  here,  and  then  die  also,  and  be  forgotten,  except  by  per- 
haps other  poor  diseased  children."  —  "  Well,  what 's  the  remedy?  " 
said  he.  —  "  Why,  stop  raising  children,  when  you  have  more  than 
enough  already,  and  teach  them,  and  yourselves,  what  to  eat,  and 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  275 

live  on  half  the  expense,  by  throwing  out  of  the  catalogue  tobacco 
tea,  coffee,  pork,  pepper,  and  most  other  condiments  and  meats, 
and  live  temperate,  sober,  and  godly  lives,  and  not  work  half  as 
hard,  and  feel  twice  as  well." —  "That  is  it,"  said  the  professor. 
"  I  wish  you  would  talk  thus  to  all  who  need  such  lessons." 
—  "  But  they  will  not  hear  it ;  for  either  lust  and  sensualism,  or 
religion,  are  in  the  way,  and  few  can  give  up  the  foods  and  drinks 
that  keep  up  the  fires  of  lust  and  passion,  and  such  do  not  know 
the  joy  of  pure  lives."  —  "  True,  true ;  but  what  a  work  we  have 
to  do !  "  —  "  Yes,  but  you  see  I  am  a  mason,  but  not  a  free  one, 
to-day,  and  now  my  worship  is  work."  —  "Yes,  and  I  will  not 
detain  you  longer ;  so  good-day,  and  success." 

Crowding  forward  the  house  by  day ;  lecturing  in  evenings  to 
students,  and  others,  mainly  on  diet  and  regimen,  etc. 

October  4,  5.  —  Attends  the  yearly  meeting  of  Friends  of 
Human  Progress  at  Battle  Creek.  Much  pleased ;  took  active 
part  and  much  interest ;  spiritualism  a  ruling  element  in  the 
meeting,  and  H.  C.  Wright  a  prominent  actor ;  much  pleased 
with  him  —  liked  him  more  and  more  as  he  became  better  ac- 
quainted with  him  and  his  motives.  He  took  very  little  part  in 
the  great  national  campaign  excitement  now  agitating  the  people, 
yet  felt  an  interest  in  the  issue,  but  did  not  expect  the  results  to  be 
such  as  the  opposing  parties  contended  for ;  for  well  he  knew  that, 
other  causes  being  much  deeper  than  political  excitement,  were 
already  working  out  results  and  changes  for  the  future  of  the 
nation ;  and  well  he  knew  that  measures  were  proceeding  in  the 
spirit-world  to  effect  a  complete  disintegration  of  parties  and  soci- 
eties in  this,  both  political  and  religious,  to  result  in  a  complete 
individualization  and  sovereignty,  preparatory  to  a  higher  order 
of  life  and  harmony  on  earth,  in  connection  with  the  spirit-spheres. 

October  14.  —  Reached  home  with  the  daughter,  and  the  happy 
family  were  all  together  at  the  real  Harmonia  home  of  Mr.  Cor- 
nell, where  they  were  ever  cared  for  as  his  own  family,  until  the 
new  house  was  ready  to  receive  them.  Each  Sabbath  he  met  an 
appointment  at  some  town,  and  during  the  week  toiled  early  and 


276  LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

late  on  his  *»ouse,  till  October  27,  when  it  was  dedicated  as  the 
cottage  home,  and  warmed  by  the  happy  faces  of  the  young  friends, 
and  soon  after  became  one  of  the  happiest  homes  in  the  nation  , 
for  it  was  and  is  the  home  of  true  spiritualists,  to  which  each 
reader  of  this  narrative  is  cordially  invited  to  "  come  and  see." 

November  4.  —  The  great  national  struggle  came  to  a  crisis, 
and  broke.  He  dropped  his  vote  into  the  crowd,  where  it  fell  still 
as  a  snow-flake,  and  counted  one,  and  then  pursued  his  labor  in  a 
snow-storm,  with  the  son,  collecting  and  setting  apple-trees  pre- 
sented to  him  by  an  excellent  friend,  which  he  found  in  H.  Willis. 

November  7.  —  Lodged  in  Chicago,  and  Sunday,  9th,  lectured 
three  times  in  the  commercial  whirlpool,  to  small  audiences  —  no 
excitement.  At  Elgin,  Dagget's  home  and  a  good  church  were  open 
to  him,  and  he  used  them.  Found  hearts  and  hands  ready  and 
willing  to  aid  the  onward  march  of  the  car  of  progress  in  that 
beautiful  and  thriving  town  on  the  Fox  River. 

November  16.  —  Met  H.  C.  Wright  at  Rockford,  and  had  a 
pleasant  and  happy  visit ;  but  Henry  did  the  talking,  according 
to  appointment. 

November  23.  —  Closed  a  course  of  lectures  in  Mendota,  to 
good  audiences,  and  warm  friends  of  him  and  the  cause.  Found 
it  an  excellent  point  for  the  new  gospel,  and  a  poor  one  for  the 
old.  Backed  up  to  Waukegan  next,  and  had  a  fine  visit  and 
audiences.  Spent  the  snow-storm  days  in  Milwaukie,  and  met 
Emma  F.  Jay,  with  her  last  name  almost  changed.  Also  met  that 
executive  pioneer,  Joel  Tiffany,  the  sunny  face  of  Ex-Gov.  Tall- 
madge,  and,  happiest  of  all,  Dr.  Greves,  and  many  old  friends  of 
his,  who  were  also,  of  course,  friends  of  the  angels.  Lectured  but 
once,  and  returned  to  Waukegan,  and  met  his  old  and  true  friend 
Dr.  Haskell ;  then  to  Chicago,  and  in  circle  at  the  magnificent 
home  of  Dan  Richmond,  the  man  who  was  able  and  willing  to 
make  spiritualism  popular  and  respectable  in  that  city,  if  wealth 
and  business  talent  could  give  it  that  position.  Via  Michigan 
city  to  La  Fayette,  la.,  and  at  the  new  home  of  those  bold  de- 
fenders of  reform,  Dr.  Stockham,  and  Alice  B.  Stockham,  the 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  277 

wife,  and  also  the  M.  D.,  whose  ambition  and  enterprise  had  in- 
duced her  to  study  through  the  Medical  College  at  Cincinnati, 
closely  after  Carrie.  She  and  her  husband  had  taken  up  the 
loose  ends  of  reform  in  this  town,  and  were  already  making  prog- 
ress, and  removing  obstacles  from  the  way  of  lecturers.  He  also 
found  the  quiet  home  of  John  0.  Wattles  a  few  miles  distant,  and 
the  fine  old  homestead  of  Dr.  Welsh  at  Weau  station,  and  soon 
found  good  and  true  hearts  were  not  scarce  in  the  land  of  the 
Hoosiers.  Next  at  Dr.  Shaw's,  in  Indianapolis ;  but  this  was  the 
capital  of  the  fine  state,  and  of  course  fashion,  and  pride,  and 
ignorance,  used  bigotry  for  knowledge,  to  rule  by,  and  turned  up 
its  noses  at  reforms  or  reformers,  —  especially  reforms  in  reli- 
gion, —  for  they  had  Abraham  for  their  father,  and  Moses  for 
their  law-giver,  and  wanted  no  better.  All  else  was  heresy,  and 
of  course  he  could  not  make  a  point  of  importance  here  yet.  One 
lecture  and  a  few  hearers  was  all. 

December  21.  —  Closed  course  of  lectures  and  fine  long  visit 
at  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  old  and  new  friends  were,  as  ever,  glad  to 
meet  him.  Next  at  Richmond,  where  the  straight-line  Quakers 
were  already  committeeing  out  their  members  from  society  for 
believing  in  a  spirit-world,  and  that  it  was  at  hand,  as  Jesus  said 
it  was  in  his  day  on  earth. 

Sunday,  28.  —  Two  lectures  to  large  audiences,  in  Cincinnati, 
closed  the  visit  and  business,  to  back  up  to  Richmond,  and  lecture 
once  more  to  the  Quaker  stock  of  that  neat  little  city  of  plain 
style  and  excellent  people  ;  then  to  the  capital  again,  and  by  extra 
efforts  of  Dr.  Shaw  and  the  spirits  be  saved  from  a  typhoid  fever, 
with  which  he  was  threatened.  But  they  succeeded  in  two  days 
in  turning  it  off,  and  barely  saved  him  while  the  old  year  died 
and  was  gathered  to  its  fathers,  leaving  the  Lone  One,  on  the 
night  of  December  31st,  in  the  chamber  of  Dr.  Shaw,  alive,  but 
restless  with  pain  and  fever.  Then  it  bade  its  friend,  the  Lone 
One,  farewell.  "  Farewell !  "  came  the  answer. 

"  Soon  my  task  will  be  completed, 
Soon  your  footsteps  I  shall  follow 
24 


278  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

To  the  islands  of  the  blessed, 
To  the  kingdom  of  Ponemah, 
To  the  land  of  the  hereafter  !  " 


BY  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BARD. 
There  have  been  noble  men,  whose  highest,  holiest  thoughts 
Were  born  in  solitude. 

Alone  in  some  vast  wilderness  they  wandered  forth, 
And  there  communed  with  nature,  until 
Its  inspiration  roused  the  slumbering  soul, 
And  from  its  depths  brought  forth  some  glorious  vision, 
Fairer  than  earth's  creation,  which  in  a  higher  world 
Shall  yet  be  realized.     For  what  the  soul  creates 
To  the  soul's  realm  belongs,  and  never  can  be  more 
Than  dimly  shadowed  forth  on  earth,  where 
Skilful  hands  are  ever  ready  to  embody  in  external  things 
Its  high  imaginings.     And  such  are  they 
For  whom  the  earth  hath  no  companionship. 
They  mingle  with  the  world,  but  are  not  of  it.     With  hearts 
All  formed  for  sympathy  and  filled  with  highest  love, 
They  stand  alone.     Alone  !  because  inflexible  in  truth  and  virtue. 
Alone  !  because  the  inward  voice  can  never  yield 
Its  sense  of  right  to  the  great  world's  applause. 
Alone  !  because  the  clamorous  multitude  will  never  grant 
The  meed  of  praise  to  virtues  not  their  own. 
And  yet  not  all  alone.     For  ever  to  the  heart  thus  throned 
In  solitude  kind  spirits  minister,  outpouring  high 
And  glorious  thoughts,  and  kindling  sweet  emotions  in  the  soul, 
Until  it  revels  in  the  light  of  heaven,  and  slakes  its  thirst 
In  its  undying  founts,  whose  crystal  waters  back  reflect  the  light  of  truth 
and  wisdom. 

SECTION  V. 

1857.  FRACTIONAL    YEAR,  AND    RETURN    OF    WANDERER   TO    THE 

HAPPY   HOME.  —  A    VOICE   FROM    HOME. 

"  Thou  art  not  here  !  't  is  spoken  still 

Within  the  forest  shade  ; 
'T  is  murmured  by  the  babbling  rill, 
'T  la  whispered  through  the  glade ; 


LIFE-LINE   OF.  THE   LONE    ONE.  279 

At  even's  calm,  when  twilight  broods, 

And  silence  fills  the  air, 
The  gloomy  shadows  of  the  woods 

Tell  me  thou  art  not  here  ! 

"  And  ever  as  I  trace  the  way 

By  woodland  or  by  stream,  — 
The  haunts  of  many  a  happy  day, 

Of  many  a  happy  dream,  — 
As,  lingering  by  the  rustic  seat, 

Or  antique  bridge  so  near, 
My  heart  doth  quicker,  wilder  beat, 

I  feel  thou  art  not  here  ! 

"  Yet  wood,  and  brake,  and  running  stream, 

Are  green,  and  fair,  and  bright  ; 
The  sun  smiles  forth  a  welcome  beam, 

And  glad  scenes  meet  my  sight. 
The  birds,  the  winds,  commingling  song, 

Steal  on  my  anxious  ear  ; 
But  even  music's  charm  hath  gone  — 

Alas  !  thou  art  not  here  ! ' ' 

Echo  from  the  south  : 

"  Alas  !  alas  !  doth  hope  deceive  us? 

Shall  friendship,  love  —  shall  all  those  ties 
That  bind  a  moment,  and  then  leave  us, 

Be  found  again  where  nothing  dies  ? 
0,  if  no  other  boon  were  given, 

To  keep  our  hearts  from  wrong  and  stain, 
Who  would  not  try  to  win  a  heaven, 

Where  all  we  love  shall  live  again  !  " 

Jan.  1,  1857.  —  The  sick  year  died,  and  the  sick  man  recovered, 
and  closed  the  visit  at  the  capital  with  the  kind  family,  and  whistled 
out  to  Knightstown  and  lectured  twice  on  Sunday;  then  to  that 
handsomest  town  in  Indiana,  Terre  Haute,  where  the  fine  home  of 
T.  A.  Madison  received  him  cordially,  and  the  church  door  opened 
for  him,  and  the  people  came  in  good  numbers  to  listen  to  the 


280  LIFE-LINE    OF  THE  LONE    ONE. 

gospel  of  the  Lone  One,  surrounded  by  angels,  and  cheered  on  bj 
a  "great  cloud  of  witnesses,  unseen,  though  near." 

January  9.  —  Crossed  the  river  and  entered  St.  Louis  ;  coasted 
about  the  city;  called  on  many  friends,  and  among  them  one  family 
of  long  and  lasting  friendship,  with  whom  he  had  boarded  at  the 
capital  of  Wisconsin  several  winters.  Spent  some  pleasant  hours 
with  these,  N.  and  M.,  both  of  whom  were  among  his  most  devoted 
friends.  Lectured  on  Sunday  to  large  audiences,  and  several 
evenings  to  less  numbers.  Closed  the  course,  and  gave  one  on 
temperance  on  Sunday,  the  18th,  and,  on  the  20th,  recrossed  the 
river  through  crowded  ice,  and  in  freezing  cold,  and  whistled 
along  the  path  where  cold  is  no  obstruction,  to  Cairo,  and  at 
night  bedded  in  a  state-room  on  the  steamboat  Illinois,  bound  for 
Memphis.  One  hundred  and  fifty  passengers,  or  more,  nearly  as 
many  cattle  below,  and  heaps  of  flour,  made  up  the  loading  of  the 
noble  boat ;  and  she  started  and  paddled  slowly  her  way  through 
the  floating  ice  till  within  thirty  or  forty  miles  of  Memphis,  when 
the  ice  had  the  track,  and  would  not  switch  off  for  her  to  pass; 
there  she  laid  up  till  the  passage  to  Memphis,  usually  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  was  lengthened  to  thirteen  days.  Once  only  the  heart 
of  the  Lone  One  quaked  for  a  moment.  It  was  night,  —  near 
morn,  —  dark  as  the  darkest;  the  passengers  and  crew  were  in 
the  world  of  sleep,  all  save  the  watch  and  the  Lone  One ;  he  was 
on  the  guard  of  the  boat,  early  risen,  to  observe  and  listen  to  the 
breaking  and  crashing  of  the  ice,  which  was  giving  way  to  the  rain 
and  current.  The  boat  was  out  in  the  stream,  fastened  only  by 
ice.  Nearer  and  nearer  the  crashing  and  breaking  appeared.  No 
object  could  be  seen  beyond  the  lights,  which  were  dim  and  nearly 
tapered  into  morning.  The  boat  started,  and  with  terrific  crash- 
ing, and  cracking,  and  creaking,  she  moved  rapidly  down  the 
current.  The  officers  were  soon  out,  but  nothing  could  be  done 
for  her  but  to  let  her  drift  with  the  ice  and  current,  in  total 
darkness.  Every  moment  she  seemed  going  to  pieces  to  him  who 
was  not  accustomed  to  the  battles  with  ice  and  stream.  But  short 
was  the  time.  She  was  soon  fast,  hard  aground,  with  bow  high 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  281 

up  on  heaps  of  ice  at  the  shore,  and  the  torch-lights  soon  showed 
them  they  could  step  on  shore  from  the  boat.  Few  of  the 
passengers  knew  of  the  peril  till  all  was  over.  But  the  orphan, 
who  had  not  intended  to  bed  his  body  in  the  drifts  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, was  on  the  alert,  not  in  terror,  but  calmly  watching  pass- 
ing events  in  which  he  felt  deeply  interested.  They  had  plenty 
of  time  to  get  her  off  before  the  ice  opened  in  the  river  below  to  let 
her  through.  On  this  and  other  boats  he  found  greater  varieties  of 
people  than  he  had  ever  before  met.  The  Southern  planter  was 
there,  generous,  open,  frank,  free,  intelligent.  The  Yankee,  from 
away  down  East ;  the  Western  banker  and  trader,  full  of  brag  and 
tricks.  The  gambler,  open  and  generous,  and  ready  to  fight  or  to 
treat  you.  The  cattle-trader,  cool,  sober,  calculating  on  his  profits 
and  losses.  The  boat's  officers,  gentlemanly  and  pleasant  to  passen- 
gers of  all  kinds,  but  terrible  and  savage  to  the  hands  under  pay, 
swearing  oaths  that  would  start  all  but  the  ice.  Ladies  of  as  great 
a  variety  ;  wives,  sisters,  daughters,  mothers,  and  even  the  concert- 
singers,  the  Riley  Family,  in  glee  and  song,  were  there,  full  of 
music,  with  a  comic  addition  from  New  Hampshire  in  the  genius 
of  Connor.  "Is  your  name ?"  said  a  voice  from  the  corn- 
crib  below,  one  day,  as  he  was  wandering  among  the  machinery  of 
the  boat.  —  "  It  is."  —  "I  thought  I  knew  you  ;  father  and  I 
boarded  with  you  up  in  the  woods  at  the  old  saw-mill,  in  South- 
port,  and  do  you  remember  me  ?  "-—"Yes,  and  your  father,  too; 
but  what  are  you  doing  here  ?  "  —  "  Feeding  these  cattle.  I  get 
fifty  dollars  and  my  fare  to  feed  them  down,  and  fare  back,  —  have 
a  farm  in  Iowa,  and  this  is  the  way  I  am  improving  it.  Come  down 
and  tell  me  your  history,  and  let  us  talk  over  old  times."  So  they 
did  lead  out  some  of  their  histories.  When  the  days  had  numbered 
the  baker's  dozen,  the  ice  softened,  and  the  Illinois  broke  her  path 
through,  followed  by  four  other  anxious  and  waiting  boats,  and 
hailed  from  below  by  the  officers  and  passengers  of  sixteen  boats  all 
waiting  to  get  up  river.  Some  with  guns,  and  some  with  shouts, 
expressed  their  joy  ;  but  the  Illinois  passed  quietly  on  to  Memphis, 
and  soon  further  down  even  to  the  crescent  city  ;  but  the  Lone 
2-4* 


282  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE. 

One  went  on  shore  at  Memphis,  and  soon  found  new  friends  and 
a  hearty  welcome  as  a  lecturer.  Homed  with  the  celebrated  Dr 
Gilbert,  of  cancer-cure  notoriety,  where  wealth  and  kindness  both 
met  the  Lone  One.  Gave  a  short  course  of  lectures;  was  well 
paid. 

February  9.  —  Took  passage  for  New  Orleans  on  S.  B.  Moses, 
McLelland,  with  pleasant  officers  and  passengers  from  Ohio 
River,  mostly  from  Indiana  ;  moved  majestically  down  the  mighty 
river,  along  the  banks  of  which  he  viewed  the  splendid  palaces  and 
rows  of  slave  shanties.  The  magnificence  of  the  feudal  castles  of 
the  middle  ages,  with  the  hovels  of  worse  than  serfdom  in  contrast. 
The  towns  and  cities  much  like  those  of  the  North,  leaving  the 
great  contrast  between  North  and  South  mainly  in  the  rural 
districts.  It  was  an  interesting  sight  and  subject,  and  made  its 
picture  on  the  memory  of  the  Lone  One  indelibly,  from  which  it 
may  some  day  be  taken  off  on  paper,  but  not  here. 

February  13.  —  The  boat  up  to  the  wharf,  and  the  passengers 
were  soon  in  the  omnibus-city  of  New  Orleans,  where  friends, 
not  a  few,  were  ready  to  greet,  and  expecting,  him.  A  score 
of  letters  awaited  him  at  the  post-office,  and  magnificent  homes 
were  opened  for  his  stay.  Sunny  as  a  summer-time  were  the 
days  and  faces  around  him  ;  fine  audiences  assembled  in  a  neat 
hall  to  hear  his  words,  and  pressing  invitations  urged  him  from 
place  to  place,  but  all  in  temperate,  moral,  and  consistent  company, 
and  exhibitions.  No  theatre  or  gaming-house  was  visited  by  him 
during  his  stay ;  but  all  the  interesting  places  of  business  and  art 
had  a  passing  notice.  Found  several  old  friends  in  the  city,  and 
one  who  had  shared  with  him  in  the  Phalanx  struggles,  then  a 
young  man,  now  a  citizen  with  wife  and  babies,  living  happily  and 
temperately  in  New  Orleans.  The  city  was  full  of  life,  and  busi- 
ness, and  strangers,  and  the  gardens  rich  with  flowers,  as  the  par- 
lors, and  sometimes  the  streets,  were  with  silks  and  doeskins, 
beavers  and  bonnets.  Near  a  dozen  lectures ;  more  homes,  and 
still  more  visits  ;  much  pleasant  conversation  ;  many  friends,  and 
pressing  entreaties  to  return,  and  ample  pay  for  the  journey,  were 


LIFE-LINE    OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  283 

all  realized ;  and  on  the  second  of  March  he  ticketed  over  the  back 
track  to  Memphis,  loaded  with  bouquets  of  elegant  flowers,  took  the 
steamboat  Virginia,  to  breast  the  current  northward ;  and  sailed 
with  fine  weather,  but  had  one  terrible  squall,  with  rain  and  hail  like 
shot  from  a  loaded  gun,  from  which  they  escaped  damage  and  danger 
by  tieing  up  to  a  tree,  on  the  lee  bank,  just  in  time  to  escape  a 
capsizing  or  a  complete  destruction.  No  other  important  event 
occurred  on  the  upward  course.  The  Lone  One  watched  the  gam- 
blers till  he  was  tolerably  well  acquainted  with  their  "  poker  "  game, 
and  saw  how  the  sober  and  shrewd  ones  caught  the  green  and 
dissipated  ones ;  but  he  had  never  bet,  and  never  would  his  prin- 
ciples allow  him  to  take  part  in  games  for  money.  An  old  black 
man,  nearly  blind,  was  one  day  put  on  the  boat  to  change  places ; 
with  solemn  and  sorry  countenance  he  sat  on  a  stool  near  a  stove-pipe 
on  the  guard  of  the  boat.  Early  in  the  morning  the  Lone  One  ob- 
served his  sorry  face,  and  thought  of  his  own  early  life.  When  no 
one  was  in  sight  he  passed  him,  and  placed  a  half-dollar  in  his 
hand  without  a  word,  when  the  sorry  face,  stammering,  accosted 
him  :  "  Massa,  —  massa,  —  don't  you  want  —  buy  —  somebody  ?  " 
—  "I  am  a  poor  man,"  was  the  only  reply,  as  he  passed,  and  sup- 
pressed the  tear  by  turning  to  other  scenes.  He  never  read  Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin,  and  probably  never  will.  He  made,  on  the  boat,  the 
acquaintance  of  a  cotton-planter  of  Tennessee,  whose  generous 
heart,  and  beautiful  and  intelligent  daughter,  urged  him  to  visit 
their  home  at  Nashville.  His  cotton-farm  was  on  the  river  below 
Memphis,  where  he  said  he  worked  about  three  hundred  negroes, 
and  where  they  earned  him,  on  an  average,  three  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  each,  per  year ;  but  he  said  he  was  ever  careful  to  have  a 
kind  overseer,  to  have  them  well  fed  and  clad,  and  all  their 
wants  cared  for,  and  they  seemed  as  happy  as  the  cotton-spinners 
of  New  England,  but  not  so  intelligent.  Still,  he  thought  Ten- 
nessee as  a  state  might  have  her  interests  advanced  by  abandoning 
slavery.  So  many  think  in  Kentucky,  and  Virginia,  and  Missouri, 
but  few  in  Louisiana  or  Mississippi,  &c. 

Lectured  on  the  steamboat  President ;  chatted  with  the  preachers, 


284  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LOXE    ONE. 

&c. ;  and  passed  Cairo,  and  reached  the  floating-ice,  and  at  length 
St.  Louis,  on  the  12th.  Soon  he  was  again  with  old  friends. 

Sunday,  15.  —  The  hall  was  well  filled,  and  his  discourse  well 
received  as  ever.  He  was  ever  appreciated  in  St.  Louis.  Took 
the  snaky  path  of  the  iron  horse,  and  stopped  over  at  Alton, 
Terre  Haute,  La  Fayette,  and  llichmond.  Lecturing  three  times 
in  the  court-house  at  La  Fayelte,  March  22d,  and  evenings  in  the 
other  places,  and  three  times  in  Cincinnati,  on  Sunday,  29th  ;  then 
rented  over  one  week  at  Dayton,  Ohio.  Met  William  Denton,  and 
many  other  true  friends  and  true  reformers,  and  closed  his  lectures 
on  the  5th  of  April,  and  soon  was  at  another  excellent  home  in 
Milan,  where  another  week  was  used  up  in  the  best  of  company, 
with  lectures  to  fine  and  attentive  audiences.  Next  in  Cleveland, 
with  two  lectures  on  Sunday,  April  19th,  to  large  audiences;  then 
at  Grafton,  Liverpool,  and  on  Sunday,  26th,  in  Wellington,  where  he 
met  large  audiences.  Everywhere  the  cause  seemed  to  be  on  the 
increase,  and  fast  gaining  with,  and  in,  the  best  of  minds  and 
families.  During  his  winter  sojourn  in  Ohio,  in  1856,  he  delivered 
one  hundred  and  eighteen  lectures  in  one  hundred  and  thirty-two 
consecutive  days  ;  but  in  this  last  visit  he  had  travelled  much  more, 
and  lectured  less  frequently,  losing  much  time  on  the  river,  and 
South,  where  people  are  not  so  much  in  a  hurry  for  religion,  and 
where  they  never  take  the  kingdom  of  heaven  by  storm,  if 
they  do  anything  else.  Closed  his  visit  in  Ohio  with  April,  and 
on  May-day  reached  Adrian,  and  found  the  ever-welcoming  hearts 
of  friends  ready  to  meet  him. 

May  3.  —  Lectured  in  Adrian,  and  stopping  on  the  way  at 
Raisin,  to  magnetize  a  sick  patient  for  two  days,  on  the  6th 
reached  his  cottage  home,  where  the  glad  hearts  gathered  around 
him  to  listen  to  his  words  of  love  and  wisdom,  for  he  had  both  to 
distribute. 

Here  we  shall  tie  up  this  line,  although  he  only  remained  a  few 
weeks,  and  left  again  for  the  East,  on  a  tour  of  lecturing,  and,  for 
aught  we  know,  is  wandering  still,  turning  a  corner  at  home  two 
or  three  times  a  year.  "  If  you  were  my  husband,  '  said  a 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE.  285 

woman,  "  I  would  get  a  divorce,  if  you  would  not  stay  at  home 
with  me."  —  "Perhaps  not,  madam.  If  I  am  as  bad  as  my 
enemies  say  I  am,  it  must  be  a  great  blessing  to  my  wife  to  have 
me  always  absent  from  home." —  "Well,  then,  I  would  certainly 
have  a  divorce."  —  "  That  would  be  right,  madam ;  but  it  is 
lucky  that  I  am  not  your  husband :  you  are  saved  that  trouble." 

"  Where  is  he  now  ?  "  said  a  voice,  the  first  of  June,  '57.  —  At 
the  quiet,  happy,  and  beautiful  home  of  E.  Rulon,  at  Raisin, 
Michigan,  writing  in  a  book.  "Where  is  he  now?"  said  a 
voice  on  the  Fourth  of  July. —  "  In  Buffalo,  amusing  himself  with 
the  folly  of  those  who  are  showing  off  the  monkey-tricks  of  a 
military  parade." —  "  Where  next  will  he  rest  ?  "  said  an  inquirer, 
deep  down  in  July.  —  "  At  the  Garden-of-Eden  home,  in  Essex, 
Vt."  —  "Then  he  will  see  A.  J.  Davis  and  Mary."  So  he 
did,  at  Burlington.  Do  not  think  he  was  idle  all  this  time ;  for 
he  is  never  idle,  as  his  enemies  well  know. 

Aug.  20.  —  "  Where  is  he  now  ?  "  said  a  pleasant  voice  at  the 
West.  —  In  the  little  bed-room  at  the  old  homestead  of  his  wife, 
where  she  spent  so  many  happy  hours  in  her  days  of  girlhood, 
writing  in  a  book.  "  Let  him  go;  he  is  a  strange  man."  —  "  But 
why  don't  he  stay  at  home  like  other  folks,  and  work  for  a  liv- 
ing?"—  Let  him  answer;  I  cannot.  But  you  may  write  for  him 
what  the  angel  did : 

"  Abou  Ben  Adhem  (may  his  tribe  increase  !) 
Awoke  one  night  from  a  deep  dream  of  peace, 
And  saw  within  the  moonlight  in  his  room, 
Making  it  rich,  and  like  the  lily  in  bloom, 
An  angel  writing  in  a  book  of  gold  ; 
Exceeding  peace  had  made  Ben  Adhem  bold, 
And  to  the  presence  in  the  room  he  said, 

'  What  writest  thou  ? '     The  vision  raised  his  head, 
And,  with  a  look  made  of  all  sweet  accord, 
Answered, '  The  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord.' 

'  And  is  mine  one  ? '  said  Abou.     '  Nay,  not  so,' 
Replied  the  angel.     Abou  spoke  more  low, 


286  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

But  cheerily  still,  and  said,  « I  pray  thee,  then, 

AY  rite  me  as  one  that  loves  his  fellow-men.' 

The  angel  wrote  and  vanished.     The  next  night 

He  came  again,  with  a  great  waking  light, 

And  showed  the  names  whom  love  of  God  had  blest, 

When,  lo  !  Ben  Adhem's  name  led  all  the  rest  !  " 

Life's  journey  now  is  well  begun, 
And  will  not  close  with  setting  sun, 
But  through  the  future  swiftly  run. 


SECTION   VI. 

SUPPLEMENTAL   AND    CONCLUSIVE. 

IF    I    WERE    A    VOICE. 

If  I  were  a  voice,  a  persuasive  voice, 

That  could  travel  the  wide  world  through, 

I  would  fly  on  the  beams  of  the  morning  light, 

And  speak  to  men  with  a  gentle  might, 
And  tell  them  to  be  true. 

I  would  fly,  I  would  fly  over  land  and  sea, 

Wherever  a  human  heart  might  be, 

Telling  a  tale  or  singing  a  song 

In  praise  of  the  right,  in  blame  of  the  wrong. 

If  I  were  a  voice,  a  consoling  voice, 

I  'd  fly  on  the  wings  of  air  ; 
The  homes  of  sorrow  and  guilt  I  'd  seek, 
And  calm  and  truthful  words  I  'd  speak, 

To  save  them  from  despair. 
I  would  fly,  I  would  fly  o'er  the  crowded  town, 
And  drop  like  the  happy  sunlight  down 
Into  the  hearts  of  suffering  men, 
And  teach  them  to  look  up  again. 

If  I  were  a  voice,  a  convincing  voice, 

I  'd  travel  with  the  wind  ; 
And  wherever  I  saw  a  nation  torn 
By  warfare,  jealousy,  spite,  or  scorn, 

Or  hatred  of  their  kind, 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE    ONE.  287 

I  would  fly,  I  would  fly  on  the  thunder-crash, 
And  into  their  blinded  bosoms  flash  ; 
Then,  with  their  evil  thoughts  subdued, 
I  'd  teach  them  Christian  Brotherhood. 

If  I  were  a  voice,  an  immortal  voice, 

I  would  fly  the  earth  around, 
And  wherever  man  to  idols  bowed 
I  'd  publish  in  notes  both  long  and  loud 

The  Gospel's  joyful  sound. 
I  would  fly,  I  would  fly  on  the  wings  of  day, 
Proclaiming  peace  on  my  world-wide  way, 
Bidding  the  saddened  earth  rejoice  — 
If  I  were  a  voice  —  an  immortal  voice  ! 


THE  WORLD  WOULD  BE  THE  BETTER  FOR  IT. 

If  men  cared  less  for  wealth  and  fame, 
And  less  for  battle-fields  and  glory  ; 
If  writ  in  human  hearts  a  name 

Seemed  better  than  in  song  and  story  ; 
If  men,  instead  of  nursing  pride, 

Would  learn  to  hate  it,  and  abhor  it  — 
If  more  relied 
On  Love  to  guide, 
The  world  would  be  the  better  for  it. 

If  men  dealt  less  in  stocks  and  lands, 

And  more  in  bonds  and  deeds  fraternal ; 
If  Love's  work  had  more  willing  hands 

To  link  this  world  to  the  supernal  ; 
If  men  stored  up  Love's  oil  and  wine, 
And  on  bruised  human  hearts  would  pour  it 
If  "  yours  "  and  "  mine  " 
Would  once  combine, 
The  world  would  be  the  better  for  it. 

If  more  would  ACT  the  play  of  Life, 

And  fewer  spoil  it  in  rehearsal  ; 
If  Bigotry  would  sheath  its  knife 

Till  Good  became  more  universal  : 


288  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

If  Custom,  gray  "with  ages  grown, 
Had  fewer  blind  men  to  adore  it  — 

If  talent  shone 

In  Truth  alone, 
The  world  would  be  the  better  for  it. 

If  men  were  wise  in  little  things, 

Affecting  less  in  all  their  dealings  ; 
If  hearts  had  fewer  rusted  strings 
To  isolate  their  kindly  feelings  ; 
If  men,  when  Wrong  beats  down  the  Right, 
Would  strike  together  and  restore  it  — 
If  Right  made  Might 
In  every  fight, 
The  world  would  be  the  better  for  it. 

We  never  did  inquire  into  the  causes  or  circumstances  which 
gave  rise  to  the  birth  of  the  Lone  One,  nor  did  we  accept  any 
dream-interpretation  of  its  mysterious  origin.  There  is  little 
doubt  that,  like  most  unwelcome  births,  both  in  and  out  of  legal 
wedlock,  it  had  its  origin  in  the  condition  of  body  produced  by 
the  use  of  tobacco,  liquors,  coffee,  tea,  and  animal  food ;  for  it  has 
been  fully  established  by  physiology  that,  without  these,  men  and 
women  cannot  long  be  improperly  addicted  to  that  passional  indulg- 
ence which  leads  to  such  unpleasant,  and  often  painful,  results  ; 
and  these  are  also  ascertained  to  be  the  causes,  together  with  out- 
door exercise,  of  the  wide  difference  in  the  passional  and  lustful 
condition  of  males  and  females,  giving  a  great  preponderance  to 
the  former.  Beginning  this  line  at  the  obscure  end,  we  have  seen 
the  appropriateness  of  the  lines  of  J.  Gr.  Saxe  : 

"  Of  all  the  notable  things  on  earth, 
The  queerest  one  is  the  pride  of  birth, 

Among  our  '  tierce  Democracy  ! ' 
A  bridge  across  a  hundred  years, 
Without  a  prop  to  save  it  from  sneers, 
Not  even  a  couple  of  rotten  Peers. 
A  thing  for  laughter,  fleers,  and  jeers, 

Is  American  aristocracy. 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  289 

"  Depend  upon  it,  my  snobbish  friend, 
Your  family  thread  you  can't  ascend, 
Without  good  reason  to  apprehend 
You  may  find  it  waxed  at  the  further  end 

By  some  plebeian  vocation  ! 
Or,  worse  than  that,  your  boasted  line 
May  end  in  a  loop  of  stronger  twine 

That  plagued  some  worthy  relation  ! 

"  Because  you  flourish  in  worldly  affairs, 
Don't  be  haughty  and  put  on  airs, 

With  insolent  pride  of  station  ! 
Don't  be  proud,  and  turn  up  your  nose 
At  poorer  people  with  plainer  clothes, 
But  learn,  for  the  sake  of  your  mmd's  repose, 
That  wealth  's  a  bauble  that  comes  and  goes, 
And  that  proud  flesh,  wherever  it  grows, 
Is  subject  to  irritation. ' ' 

And,  approaching  the  other  end,  we  have  found  the  Harmonized 
and  happy  soul  and  family  in  the  true  spiritualist ;  and  we  have 
found  that  spiritualism,  or  the  Harmouial  Philosophy,  is  the 
cause.  Spiritualism  as  a  belief,  or  knowledge  of  facts,  may  be  a 
philosophy ;  but  spiritualism  as  a  religion,  as  a  practical  thing 
of  life,  and  manifestation,  is  a  reform  in  life,  and  exhibits  itself 
in  a  reformation  of  body  and  actions.  Every  true  spiritualist  will 
strive  to  regulate  his  or  her  life  by  the  true  science  of  life  and 
health,  and,  not  following  any  visionary  fanatic  into  any  extremes, 
will  consult  science,  and  rely  on  her  and  the  general  experience 
of  the  race.  Such  will  not  take  isolated  cases  of  experience ;  for 
by  such  it  could  be  easily  proved  that  a  man  should  drink  a  quart 
of  rum  each  day  to  be  healthy,  or  that  each  should  use  a  pound 
of  tobacco  per  week.  But  they  will  take  the  aggregate  testimony 
of  the  living  and  the  dead,  and,  if  corroborated  by  science,  will 
make  use  of  such  to  reform  in  life  and  condition  this  and  succeeding 
generations.  Then,  as  both  philosophy  and  experience  prove  that 
the  correspondence  of  tobacco  is  profanity,  nervous  irritation, 
poisonous  and  polluting  effects  and  influence,  and  science  proves 
25 


290  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

its  effects  ever  evil,  and  only  evil,  on  a  human  system,  therefore 
the  true  spiritualist  will  refrain  from  its  use,  and  discourage  it  in 
all  others,  by  every  mild  and  gentle  effort,  and  kindly  persuade  all, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  turn  it  out,  with  its  undignified  and  ungentle- 
manly  counterpart  —  profanity.  As  both  science  and  experience 
establish  the  fact  that  intoxicating  drinks  are  injurious,  evil,  per- 
nicious, and  tend  greatly  to  subvert  and  destroy  human  happiness 
by  expressing  their  correspondence  in  strife,  wrangling,  quarrel- 
ling, fighting,  both  public  and  private,  reaching  its  extreme  in 
wars  and  murders;  therefore  they  should,  and  will,  be  abandoned 
by  spiritualists,  and  all  reasonable  effort  made,  in  kindness, 
mildness,  and  candor,  to  discountenance  and  discourage  their  use. 
As  science  and  experience  both  prove  that  swine's  flesh  is  invari- 
ably impregnated  with  pus  and  scrofulous  matter,  which  is  carried 
into  the  human  body  with  it  when  used  for  food,  and  that  human 
bodies  are  mainly  composed  of  the  material  assimilated  from  the 
food ;  and  that  thus  "  man  grows  like  what  he  feeds  on,"  and  that 
we  would  not  like  to  have  our  bodies,  and  the  bodies  of  those  we 
love,  like  swine's  flesh,  and  with  the  mental  expression  in  corres- 
pondence, of  low,  vulgar,  bawdy  and  lustful  stories,  actions,  and 
language ;  therefore,  all  true  spiritualists  will  avoid  making 
swine's  flesh  an  article  of  food,  as  far,  and  as  fast,  as  convenient, 
especially  for  the  young  and  tender  forms  of  children,  whose 
bodies  and  minds  are  being  developed  and  matured  for  life,  and 
whose  happiness  depends  on  purity,  harmony,  and  health. 

As  both  science  and  experience  prove  that  tea  and  coffee,  steeped 
and  drank  in  decoctions  as  a  beverage,  and  especially  hot,  are 
extremely  injurious  to  the  nervous  systems,  especially  of  the 
young,  and  are  very  expensive  to  large  families,  and  almost  inva- 
riably destroy  the  teeth  by  being  used  as  many  families  use  them, 
—  therefore,  as  a  matter  of  economy  and  health,  spiritualists  will 
discourage  and  discontinue  the  use  of  these  beverages,  especially 
for  the  young,  as  far,  and  as  fast,  as  convenient  and  practicable. 
As  both  science  and  experience  teach  that  the  human  body,  to 
enjoy  health  and  happiness,  does  not  require  irritants  or  stimu- 


LIFE-LIXE    OF    THE   LONE    ONE.  291 

lants  as  condiments  in  food,  and  seldom  requires  stimulating  food, 

—  therefore  spiritualists  to  be  reformers,  and,  to  be  healthy  and 
happy,  will   be  temperate  and  prudent  in  the  use  of  foods  and 
drinks,  and  learn  to  live  soberly,  temperately,  naturally,  and  eco- 
nomically, and  by  this  means  more  easily  accomplish  the  more 
important  mental  and  spiritual  reform  which  must  bring  the  race 
into  harmony.     As  science  and  experience  both  prove  that  anger, 
hatred,   scorn,   contempt,   ridicule,  jealousy,  envy,  malice,  with 
their  train  of  swearing,  lying,  gossipping,  backbiting,  &c.,  all  tend 
to  make  society  and  persons  unhappy,  and  those  most  so  who  use 
them  most,  —  therefore  all  spiritualists,  to  be  reformers,  must 
dismiss  all  these  enemies  of  peace  and  harmony  from  their  own 
minds,  and  forever  keep  them  out  of  the  bill  of  fare  served  up  to 
others  ;  for  by  these  reforms  only  can  the  race  be  reformed  —  in  the 
reform  of  the  individuals,  singly  and  severally.     As  both  science 
and  experience  prove  that  the  fragrant  flower  sheds  most  fragrance 
around  its  parent  stem,  and  in  the  bush  where  it  grew,  so  spiritu- 
alists, whose  lives  are  reformed,  and  whose  souls  are  full  of  love, 
will  express  most  love  and  harmony  about  their  homes,  and  to 
those  with  whom  they  are  most  associated,  and  draw  to  them  most 
love  in  return  from  those  with  whom  they  deal  most ;  and  thus 
spiritualists  will  become  harmonized  and  reformed  individuals,  — 
harmonized  and  happy  families,  —  harmonized  and  happy  husbands 
and  wives  (whether  in  both  legal  and  spiritual  affinity,  or  not), 

—  harmonized    and    happy   parents,    brothers,    sisters,   children, 
friends,  members  of  society,  and  citizens ;  and  thus,  when  spiritu- 
alism shall  reach,  and  do,  for  all  people  what  it  has  done  for  the 
Lone  One  and  his  family,  the  world  will  be  full  of  happy  people, 
and  the  kingdom  of  heaven  will  be  on  earth,  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people ;  and  all  will  thank  God  for  life  and  existence,  and  love 
one  another,  —  most  the  kindred,   beginning  with  the  nearest ; 
next,  the  friends;   next,  the  strangers;   and   last  and  least,  the 
enemies  (if  there  be  any) ;   and  thus  love  all,  and  hate  none. 
Then  all  will  feel  this  world  is  but  a  "  stepping-stone  to  brighter 
worlds  above."     Then  sweetly  and  beautifully  will  each  one  ap- 


292  LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   0  .& 

proach  and  pass  that  time  and  event  when  he  or  she  will  be  "  frea 
free  from  the  shell." 

"  The  ivy  in  a  dungeon  grew, 
Unfed  by  rain,  uncheered  by  dew  ; 
Its  pallid  leaflets  only  drank 
Cave-moistures  foul  and  odors  dank. 

"  But  through  the  dungeon-grating  high 
There  fell  a  sunbeam  from  the  sky  ; 
It  slept  upon  the  grateful  floor, 
In  silent  gladness,  evermore. 

"  The  ivy  felt  a  tremor  shoot 
Through  all  its  fibres  to  the  root ; 
It  felt  the  light,  it  saw  the  ray, 
It  strove  to  blossom  into  day. 

"  It  grew,  it  crept,  it  pushed,  it  clomb  ; 
Long  had  the  darkness  been  its  home  ; 
But  well  it  knew,  though  veiled  in  night, 
The  goodness  and  the  joy  of  light. 

"  Its  clinging  roots  grew  deep  and  strong  ; 
Its  stem  expanded  firm  and  long  ; 
And  in  the  currents  of  the  air 
Its  tender  branches  flourished  fair. 

"  It  reached  the  beam,  it  thrilled,  it  curled, 
It  blessed  the  warmth  that  cheers  the  world  ; 
It  rose  toward  the  dungeon-bars  ; 
It  looked  upon  the  sun  and  stars. 

"  It  felt  the  life  of  bursting  spring, 
It  heard  the  happy  sky-lark  sing  ; 
It  caught  the  breath  of  morns  and  eves, 
And  wooed  the  swallow  to  its  leaves. 

"  By  rains  and  dews  and  sunshine  fed, 
Over  the  outer  walls  it  spread  ; 
And,  in  the  day-beam  waving  free, 
It  grew  into  a  steadfast  tree. 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  293 

"  Upon  that  solitary  place 
Its  verdure  threw  adorning  grace  ; 
The  mating  birds  became  its  guests, 
And  sang  its  praises  from  their  nests. 

"  Wouldst  know  the  moral  of  the  rhyme  ?  — 
Behold  the  Heavenly  Light,  and  climb  ! 
To  every  dungeon  comes  a  ray 
Of  God's  determinable  day." 
25* 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  LONE  ONE, 

PSYCIIOMETRICALLY  DELINEATED    BY   ANNE    DENTON    CKIDQE,   OF   DAY- 
TON,  OHIO,   1857. 


FROM  A   LETTER   PRESENTED    BV   A   FRIEND. 


LARGE  language ;  expresses  himself  readily  and  with  ease. 
Composition  well  developed  and  active ;  in  connection  with  lan- 
guage, can  express  his  thoughts  in  writing  as  well  as  verbally. 
Lower  perceptives  full,  upper  perceptives  average.  Reflective 
faculties  large  and  active.  Has  a  healthy  brain,  but  it  looks  as 
if  the  frontal  lobe  had  been  of  late  somewhat  overtaxed.  Has  a 
comprehensive  mind ;  reasons  and  argues  not  from  a  small  circle 
of  facts,  but  from  a  large  and  varied  collection.  He  is  always 
more  anxious  for  the  truth  than  to  make  out  a  case.  He  does  not 
build  up  a  theory  in  his  mind,  and  then  look  around  to  see  what 
arguments  he  can  find  to  sustain  it ;  but  builds  upon  facts,  and 
gathers  from  the  whole  of  nature.  Has  a  good  faculty  for  analy- 
sis, correspondence,  collecting  and  applying,  &c.  Rather  large 
benevolence ;  a  strong  nerve-aura  current  passes  from  it  to  the 
intellect,  and  follows  where  the  intellect  approves  and  directs.  From 
the  posterior  portion  of  benevolence,  I  perceive  another  current 
flowing  through  spirituality  to  concentrativeness ;  a  current  from 
firmness  unites  with  it ;  these  united  currents  flow  to  the  reflect- 
ive faculties,  and  these  organs  act  together  in  some  way,  but  I  do 
not  exactly  understand  how ;  I  should  think  that,  as  it  passes 
through  spirituality,  he  is  philanthropic  in  a  spiritual  and  reforma- 
tory direction.  Veneration  about  average.  Firmness  large.  Com- 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  295 

bativeness  rather  large.  Destructiveness  small ;  but  acts  vigorously 
with  the  frontal  lobe.  Acquisitiveness  full ;  would  like  to  make 
money  and  do  well,  but  wants  to  make  it  in  connection  with  pro- 
gressive and  reformatory  labors.  Warm  and  well-developed  back- 
head.  Philoprogenitiveness  quite  active,  but  the  organ  not  promi- 
nent ;  is  fond  of  children,  and  pleasant  and  mirthful  among  them. 
Concentrativeness  large  ;  it  acts  vigorously  in  connection  with  the 
frontal  lobe.  Self-esteem  full.  Attachment  to  home,  to  place, 
strong.  Conjugality  rather  large ;  it  aches  somewhat ;  there  is  a 
feeling  of  sadness  in  connection  therewith.  Amativeness  quite 
full ;  it  is  pure,  and  acts  through  conjugality  and  the  intellect.  la 
a  great  admirer  of  intellectual  women,  and  would  be  likely  to 
express  it. 


SPECIMEN  OF  HIS  PHILOSOPHY  IX  LECTURES. 

RELIGION,  like  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  nature's  exhibitions,  has  a 
trinitarian  development,  and  expresses  usually,  in  the  individual 
and  the  race,  three  distinct  phases,  or  planes.  The  first  and  low- 
est form  is  Idolatry,  or  the  introduction  of  a  God  to  the  mind. 
Thisembraces  all  forms  of  worship  in  which  devotion  is  paid 
to  a»  object,  a  thing,  a  person,  or  a  being,  which  the  wor- 
shipper calls  God.  It  does  not  change  the  nature  or  char- 
acter of  the  devotion  to  change  the  substance  of  which  the 
God  is  composed.  Whether  it  be  of  clay,  or  stone,  or  wood,  or  gold, 
or  flesh,  or  spirit,  or  the  most  refined  element  of  which  a  form  can 
be  constituted,  the  object  is  still  an  Idol.  The  character,  qual- 
ity, and  composition,  of  the  thing,  or  being,  only  determines  the 
degree  of  taste  and  refinement  in  the  worshipper.  It  is  still 
idolatry,  so  long,  and  so  far,  as  it  conveys  or  attaches  devotion 
to  an  object  as  God.  A  God,  or  the  God,  always  denotes  an 
object,  and  expresses  Idolatry.  These  expressions  always  point  to 
an  object,  and  every  object  can  be  comprehended  by  the  mind,  or 
surrounded,  which  is  to  comprehend,  in  the  sense  we  use  the  term. 
Every  being,  person,  or  thing,  has  diameter  and  circumference, 
and  by  these  we  can  measure  every  object,  whether  we  call  it  God 
or  any  other  name.  It  does  not  remove  the  worshipper  from  Idol- 
atry to  place  the  being  out  of  the  reach  of  the  person  worship- 
ping. It  is  truly  a  low  form  of  Paganism  to  carry  a  God  about 
one's  person,  but  not  so  far  removed  from  the  practice  of  carrying 
the  revealed  will  in  a  book  about  the  person,  as  some  human  beings 
do,  as  some  might  suppose.  It  is  as  really  Idol-worship  to  send 
the  veneration  to  the  sun  or  stars,  as  to  a  car  of  Juggernaut,  or  a 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  297 

statue  of  Diana,  to  a  Temple,  Church,  or  Throne  of  Grace.  Phi- 
losophically speaking,  it  is  the  same  phase  of  devotion  to  worship 
a  Christ,  or  a  spiritual  being  set  up  in  the  ideal  world  beyond  the 
external  sight  and  senses,  as  to  worship  a  stone  or  wooden  God. 
The  composition  and  quality  of  the  object  can  never  alter  or 
change  the  nature  of  the  devotion,  nor  can  the  place  where  you 
set  up  your  object  or  image  change,  in  the  least  degree,  the  char- 
acter of  the  worship.  A  degree  of  progress  in  the  individual  or 
worshipper  is  all  that  is  manifested  by  these  conditions.  It  is  an 
evidence  of  our  advanced  idolatry  to  place  the  God  in  the  ideal 
sphere,  and  compose  his  body  of  a  rare  and  highly  etherealized 
element.  Nor  does  it  change  the  nature  of  the  devotion  from 
idolatry  to  increase  the  real  or  supposed  power  and  attribute  of 
the  God.  Every  man  clothes  his  God  with  such  attribute  as 
his  capacity  can  furnish,  nor  can  do  more.  There  are  men  now 
living  on  the  earth  whose  power  and  capacity  exceeds  that  of 
many  Gods  which,  or  who,  have  received  the  devotion  of  mortals; 
and  there  are,  no  doubt,  millions  of  beings  whose  conditions  are 
vastly  superior  to  any  idea  now  entertained  by  a  mortal  of  a  per- 
sonal God.  The  man  who  carries  his  God  in  his  pocket,  or  tied 
up  in  his  hair,  clothes  him  from  his  own  mind  with  all  the  attri- 
butes, and  qualifies,  with  all  the  good  adjectives  his  storehouse 
can  supply,  and  a  Chapin,  or  Beecher,  or  a  Parker,  if  they  have 
a  God,  can  do  no  more.  They  have  placed  their  God,  or  Gods, 
(for  I  am  not  sure  they  all  worship  the  same  one)  a  little  further 
from  us  or  from  their  hearers  ;  made  him,  or  them,  of  a  little  finer 
material,  and  ideally  clothed  them  with  more  and  higher  attri- 
butes, each  and  all  in  accordance  with  their  refinement,  mental 
development,  and  the  age  and  country  in  which  they  live  and 
preach.  There  is  no  reason  or  philosophy  which  can  terminate 
Idolatry  with  the  composition,  position,  or  attributes,  of  the  object 
worshipped ;  and  no  reasoning  mind  will  ever  attempt  to  define 
where  Idolatry  ends,  and  leaves  an  object  and  centralized  devotion, 
on  a  being,  or  thing,  or  individual. 

Let  no  one  accuse  me  of  treating  his  form  of  worship  as  a  sin. 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

or  even  as  an  evil.  It  is  not  more  a  sin  to  be  an  Idolater  than  it 
is  to  be  a  child.  It  is  the  childhood  of  Keligion,  and  as  natural 
and  legitimate  as  our  physical  childhood ;  and  as  naturally  pre. 
cedes  our  higher  religious  expressions  as  the  physical  wants  pre- 
cede the  mental  and  spiritual,  or  as  the  demands  of  our  physical 
nature  precede  those  of  our  intellectual.  All  men  are  by  nature 
religious,  and  first  Idolaters.  A  human  being  without  veneration 
would  be  what  nature  cannot  furnish.  It  is  an  essential  part  of 
all  and  every  human  being.  Persons  in  one  plane  do  not  always 
perceive  it  in  those  of  another  plane,  and  hence  term  them  Atheists; 
but  in  a  true,  an  absolute,  and  a  philosophical  sense,  there  never 
was,  and  never  can  be,  an  Atheist.  The  honest  and  sincere  devo- 
tion given  to  the  highest  object  we  can  conceive  of,  is  true  religion, 
or  tjj^e  devotion ;  and  is  all  that  can  be  required  of  any  person. 

More  than  nine  tenths  of  the  human  race  on  earth  at  this  time 
are  in  the  plane  of  Idolatry ;  and  a  vast  and  almost  innumerable 
host  of  those  who  have  left  the  earth  are  also  in  this  plane  ;  for 
a  change  of  body  does  not  always  change  the  religion  of  the 
mind.  All  forms  of  sectarian  Christianity  are  Idolatry  in  a 
refined  form,  and  far  advanced  from  some  of  the  Pagan  forms  of 
worship,  and  perhaps  below  some  of  the  wild  Red  men ;  for  the 
Indians  of  our  continent  actually  had  a  great  Spirit-God,  ideally 
superior  to  the  Incarnate  God  of  most  Christians.  All  persons 
and  the  race  will  as  legitimately  grow  out  of  these  forms  of  Idol- 
atry as  they  grow  out  of  child-stature,  or  child-clothes ;  and  they 
would  be  very  much  like  the  boy  in  his  father's  boots,  coat,  and 
hat,  to  get  on  a  higher  form  before  they  had  outgrown  this. 
When  we  become  men  and  women  mentally,  we  shall  put  away 
childish  things.  The  doll-pet  of  the  little  girl,  and  the  top-toys 
of  the  boy,  are  laid  aside,  for  real  children,  and  real  dogs, 
horses,  &c.  So  will  your  little  Idol-God  be  laid  aside  and  neg- 
lected for  a  real  conception  of  God,  —  not  a  God,  or  the  God,  but 
God  !  Idolatry,  too,  has  its  three-fold  expression.  Its  sensual  or 
material  phase,  in  which  its  devotion  is  paid  in  sacrifices  or  offer- 
ings of  beasts,  or  grain,  or  gold  and  valuables,  as  an  atonement, 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  299 

to  obtain  thereby  a  forgiveness.  And,  second,  in  prayers  and  cer- 
emonies, personal  sufferings,  pilgrimages,  penance,  vows,  deeds  of 
charity,  flattery,  and  personal  sacrifices.  And,  third,  belief  in 
creeds,  doctrines,  dogmas,  Christ's  atonement,  the  love  of  God, 
and  the  forgiveness  of  sins  for  Christ's  sake.  There  is  really  no 
less  Idolatry  in  one  than  the  other,  but  only  a  different  degree  of 
Idolatrous  devotion.  It  is  not  less  an  Idolatry  to  worship  a  Holy 
Ghost  than  to  worship  the  Ghost  of  Hamlet,  or  Banquo,  of 
Moses,  or  Swedenborg,  or  Cobbett.  It  is  only  in  degree  ;  for  it  is 
ghosts,  and  only  ghosts,  whether  you  apply  the  term  Holy,  or  any 
other  term,  so  long  as  it  is  a  being,  or  person,  or  thing,  even 
though  placed  in  the  spiritual,  or  elemental,  or  ideal  life.  Again, 
I  repeat,  that  in  classing  Christianity  with,  or  rather  in,  Idolatry, 
I  am  not  condemning  it  as  sinful,  or  wicked,  or  bad  ;  but,  dS  the 
other  hand,  I  esteem  it  as  a  virtue  to  be  a  sincere  Christian,  and 
to  express  the  honest  devotion  of  the  soul  in  that  higher  or  high- 
est phase  of  the  religion  of  childhood.  God,  angels,  spirits, 
could  expect  no  more  than  the  honest  devotion  of  the  heart 
up  to  its  maximum  capacity ;  and  he  that  gives  this  does  all  his 
religious  duty,  and  fulfils  the  requirements  of  his  devotional 
nature ;  when,  and  as,  the  capacity  changes,  the  quality,  not 
always  the  quantity,  of  devotion  will  change,  and  new  ideas,  per- 
ceptions, appreciations,  and  capacities,  will  change  the  expression 
of  our  devotion,  always  growing  and  refining  with  our  knowledge. 
Many  modern  Christians,  honest  in  their  devotions,  and  rising  to 
their  highest  capacities  and  appreciations,  suppose  they  have 
attained  the  perfect  and  ultimate  system  of  devotion,  and  thus  all 
the  world  must  come  to  their  standard ;  but  this  is  also  the  case 
with  many  planes  below  them.  The  Mormon,  and  Mahometan, 
and  Pagan,  each  expect  the  same  for  their  religion,  and  with 
equal  propriety,  except  that  the  best  phases  of  sectarian  Chris- 
tianity are  in  advance,  and  one  or  two  sects  are  on  the  very  verge 
of  the  next  phase  ;  as,  for  instance,  Unitarianism,  running  through 
Theodore  Parker  and  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  grows  into  the  next 
phase,  or  Pantheism. 


300  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

It  is  of  no  consequence  that  those  who  are  blind  cannot  see 
religion  in  these  advanced  phases,  or  in  Pantheism.  Emerson  is 
not  less  religious  than  Bishop  Hughes,  or  Dr.  Dewey ;  nor  is  any 
full-blown  Pantheist  less  a  man  of  devotion  than  the  veriest 
Pagan  Idolater.  He  worships  in  another  phase  of  devotion  and 
development.  The  lowest  forms  of  Idolatry  require  a  visible  and 
tangible  God.  The  worshipper  must  see  and  feel  his  God.  A  lit- 
tle further  along,  and  he  can  dispense  with  the  feeling,  or  tangibil- 
ity, but  must  see  the  God-Sun,  or  Moon,  Ark,  or  Holy  object ; 
then  a  little  further,  and  he  can  give  up  the  sight  to  the  seer,  or 
prophet,  or  priest,  and  send  and  receive  messages  through  these 
mediums  ;  then  a  little  further,  and  he  can  dispense  with  all  sight, 
and  lodge  his  God  in  the  ideal  realm,  far  away  from  sight  and 
sense,  and  then  send  all  his  devotion  and  bestow  it  on  the  Idol- 
God  in  the  ideal  realm ;  then  loses  it  or  the  God  entirely,  and 
becomes  a  Pantheist,  or  a  creature  of  growth  and  natural  devel- 
opment; leaving  off  the  small-clothes,  and  little  and  big  idols, 
he  becomes  a  man  in  religion. 

All  belief  in  special  incarnations,  special  providences,  interpo- 
sitions, and  Divine  Providences,  miraculous  manifestations,  and 
supernatural  powers,  actions,  and  exhibitions,  belongs  to  Idolatry, 
and  its  personal  God,  in  some  of  its  forms.  The  Pantheist  dis- 
cards all  these,  as  the  developed  mind  does  the  phantoms  and  gob- 
lins of  the  boy  and  the  dark.  Idolatry  is  the  religion  of  ignorance 
and  innocence,  which  pertain  to  childhood,  in  the  individual  or  the 
race.  It  is  made  up  of  especialities.  The  God  is  an  especiality, 
and  especially  endowed,  and  makes  especial  manifestations,  and 
has  especial  favorites  and  pets  in  this  life,  and  the  next,  if  there 
be  a  next ;  for  all  idolaters  do  not  believe  in  a  next  life.  God  is 
personal,  and  of  course  tangible  to  some  of  the  senses,  physical  or 
mental ;  for  all  who  believe  in  a  God  must  have  one  with  form, 
and  of  course  possessed  of  diameter  and  circumference,  and  thus 
be  comprehensible  by  the  mind.  A  chosen  God  can  have  a  chosen 
people,  a  band  of  chosen  servants,  and  he  will  of  course  bestow 
favors  on  his  pets  and  favorites.  There  is  really  very  little  differ- 


LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE.  301 

ence  between  the  children  playing  with  their  pets  and  the  God 
playing  with  the  devotees  in  the  phase  of  Idolatry,  or  the  devotee 
treating  of  his  God  and  his  attributes,  and  laws  and  dealings  with 
man.  Both  are  good  enough,  and  proper  in  their  places,  but  are 
poorly  adapted  to  manhood.  One  more  century,  with  the  ratio  of 
progress  of  the  last  ten  years,  in  our  country,  will  be  sufficient  to 
carry  the  Idolatry  from  our  nation  to  the  museum,  where  it  may 
be  preserved  as  a  relic  of  the  early  time,  and  as  precious  as  the 
bones  of  saints  in  the  cathedrals  of  the  Mother  Church.  The  dim 
Bible-light  will  be  superseded  by  a  bright  sun-light,  and  the  Idol- 
God  will  make  way  for  other  and  higher  wort-hip.  The  swaddling- 
bands  will  be  laid  aside,  the  "  leading-strings "  cut  asunder,  and 
men  will  walk  out  of  these  Idol-creeds  in  freedom  of  thought  and 
expansion  of  mind,  and  will  no  longer  need  a  God  to  carry  in  the 
pocket,  or  to  sit  in  the  temple,  or  to  reign  on  a  throne  of  ivory  or 
gold  in  the  ideal  realm.  Pocket-idols  and  pocket-revelations  will 
lose  their  especial  sacredness,  and  man  will  no  longer  bow  in 
prayer  to  Gods  of  wood  or  stone,  or  sun  or  stars,  or  beast  or  man, 
or  spirit,  or  ghost,  or  king,  or  being,  here,  or  anywhere ;  but  he 
will  not  have  less  devotion  or  veneration  than  now,  nor  be  less 
religious  and  virtuous,  but  far  more,  and  have  and  express  a  far 
higher  and  better  devotion  than  in  this  phase  of  Idolatry.  I  am 
aware  this  seems  terrible  infidelity  to  an  Idolater,  but  it  must  come. 
The  second  phase  of  Religious  devotion,  or  Pantheism,  is  the 
religion  of  intellect.  Some  persons,  and  indeed  most  persons,  in 
the  plane  of  Idolatry,  suppose  there  is  no  devotion  or  religion  in 
Pantheism ;  but  this  is  only  because  they  cannot  see  in  this  intel- 
lectual religion  the  devotion  of  their  own  phase.  The  real  Pan- 
theist is  as  much  and  as  really  a  man  of  religion  and  devotion  as 
the  Idolater.  Some  persons  are  born  with  organizations  adapted 
to,  and  which  carry  them  into  this  phase  as  soon  as  the  brain  is 
ripened,  even  without  any  action  or  reading  on  the  subject,  save 
what  is  presented  in  nature.  These  persons  are  often  very  much 
blamed  by  devotees  at  the  shrine  of  Idolatry,  and  are  often  called 
reprobates  in  religion.  But  the  majority  of  persons  reach  this 
26 


302  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

phase  by  the  exercise  of  the  intellect.  Most  of  the  distinguished 
scientific  and  metaphysical  minds  who  have  lived  during  the  last 
two  hundred  years  have  been  in  this  plane  of  religion,  because 
their  reasoning  powers  were  too  much  unfolded  to  remain  in  the 
plane  of  Idolatry.  Idolatry  reasons  little.  Pantheism  reasons 
much.  Some  leading  minds  in  the  churches  have  also  reached 
this  phase,  but  expediency  and  the  condition  of  the  minds  of  the 
great  body  of  the  devotees  have  usually  prevented  them  from 
expressing  their  real  belief.  Indeed,  one  declaration  or  admission 
of  many  religious  writers  and  speakers  leads  directly  to  Pantheism, 
viz.,  the  immateriality  of  God,  of  mind,  and  of  the  spirit-world ;  for 
this  is  equivalent  in  science  to  a  denial  of  their  existence,  except  as 
admitted  by  the  Pantheist  as  connected  with  and  expressed  in  the 
material  and  tangible  substance  of  earth,  and  other  bodies  like  it 
in  substance.  The  Pantheist  has  no  personal  God,  no  individ- 
ualized or  special  incarnation,  and,  in  fact,  no  incarnation  at  all ; 
for  to  him  mind  or  its  exhibition  is  a  phenomenon  of  matter,  and, 
like  the  shadow,  disappears  when  the  substance  is  removed  which 
presented  it.  To  the  developed  Pantheist,  or  the  worshipper  in 
the  first  plane  of  this  phase,  the  earth  and  all  appurtenances  there- 
unto belonging  is  God ;  all  the  God  there  is,  he  says,  because  this 
is  all  that  he  can  recognize  as  real  existence.  But  the  more 
expanded  mind  takes  in  the  stellar  region,  and  some  of  the  ele- 
mental substances  which  fill  the  apparent  space  between  these 
bodies.  To  these  substances  they  attribute  as  causes  all  motion, 
life,  sensation,  and  intelligence,  because  they  only  find  them 
expressed  in  and  through  this  kind  and  condition  of  existence, 
They  deny  the  absolute  existence  of  mind,  because  they  could  not 
find  it  with  the  scalpel  or  in  the  crucible  of  the  chemist.  They  found 
no  more  difficulty  in  accounting  for  the  magnificent  motions  and 
exact  order  of  the  solar  and  other  systems,  as  resulting  from  the 
orbs  themselves,  than  they  found  in  accounting  for  the  exhibitions 
of  mind  in  man,  or  instinct  in  animals  and  plants;  and  they  could 
no  more  find  God  by  dissecting  the  systems  of  worlds,  than  they 
could  find  mind  by  dissecting  the  man  j  and  hence  they  worshipped 


LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE   ONE.  303 

the  negative  side  of  the  universe,  because  it  only  was  tangible  tc 
their  faculties,  and  could  thus  be  reached.  All  they  could  get 
evidence  of,  as  an  existence,  was  to  them  God,  and  they  let  their 
devotions  flow  to  the  material  or  negative  side  of  creation  as  God. 
They  took  the  Pagan's  Idol  and  melted  it,  to  show  him  there  was 
no  God  about  it,  more  than  about  any  other  lump  of  clay,  or  stone, 
or  gold.  They  pointed  the  sun -worshipper  to  other  suns,  to  show 
him  his  was  not  God,  or,  if  so,  only  one  of  many.  They  pointed 
the  worshipper  of  Christ  to  his  defects,  —  submission  to  material 
law,  and  to  the  precepts  and  examples  of  other  good  men,  —  to  show 
he  was  no  more  God,  or  a  God,  than  other  men ;  and  while  they 
refused  to  worship  him,  they  esteemed  him  according  to  his  merits, 
as  they  understood  them.  They  denied  and  entirely  repudiated 
the  Divine  revelation  of  the  Christians,  by  producing  positive 
proof  from  science  of  its  errors,  absurdities,  and  falsehoods.  They 
melted  down  and  dissolved  all  forms  of  Idolatry  by  reason,  as  the 
sun  does  a  frost  in  a  clear  morning.  Pantheism  in  good  hands 
was  always  invincible  to  Idolatry,  and  in  every  contest  left  its 
victim  floored,  or  skulked  away  behind  the  superstition  and  igno- 
rance of  the  age.  All  miracles  and  especial  providences  were 
declared  to  be  either  natural  occurrences,  or  not  to  have  occurred 
at  all.  Under  this  phase  of  religion,  superstition  and  Idolatry 
seemed  to  be  fading  fast,  and  Pantheism  seemed  destined  to  tri- 
umph as  the  religion  of  manhood  and  age  for  the  earth.  It  did 
not  necessarily  deny  a  spiritual  or  elemental  life,  but  usually  de- 
nied it  because  it  had  not  sufficient  tangible  evidence  to  sustain 
and  defend  it.  A  few  Pantheists  were,  however,  believers  in  a 
spirit-life  as  succeeding  this,  but  had  no  conception  of  its  duration, 
or  of  the  conditions  of  its  existence.  The  principles  of  philosophy, 
the  laws  of  nature,  the  demonstrations  of  science,  the  facts  of 
experience,  the  conclusions  of  reason,  were  the  creeds,  the  liturgy, 
the  belief,  the  prayer-book,  of  the  Pantheist ;  and  with  these  he 
could  and  does  overthrow  all  structures  of  Idolatry  and  supersti- 
tious devotion  to  a  personal  and  Idol  God,  and  especial  revelations 
and  providences.  The  distinguished  men  and  women  of  Europe 


304  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

and  America,  who  have  stood  out  on  the  face  of  society  in  bold 
relief  during  the  last  two  hundred  years,  have  been  mostly  Pan- 
theists in  religion ;  and  they  have  not  been  wanting  in  devotion, 
but  have  only  been  wanting  in  Idolatry.  Pantheism  has  at  last 
met  a  foernan  "worthy  of  its  steel,"  and  one  before  which  it 
falls  as  Idolatry  does  before  its  potent  weapons  —  a  phase  and 
system  of  religion  holding  to  it  the  same  relation  it  holds  to  Idol- 
atry, and  that  is  termed  Spiritualism,  or  more  appropriately  Har- 
monialism.  Idolatry  fears,  cringes,  prays  —  never  reasons.  Pan- 
theism reasons,  respects,  admires.  Spiritualism  reasons,  admires, 
loves,  venerates,  sees,  and  feels.  Pantheism  made  God  of  all 
material  substance,  and  mind  a  manifestation.  Spiritualism 
incarnates  God  in  all  and  every  form  and  substance  of  matter, 
and  receives  and  believes  God  the  motive-power  of  all  manifest- 
ations. 

This  third  phase,  to  which  I  have  now  so  legitimately  arrived, 
has  its  correspondence  in  wisdom,  in  the  judicial  power,  in  the 
conjugal  relation  of  the  sexes,  in  religion.  It  is  the  ultimate  and 
truly  harmonial  condition  and  age  of  man  in  the  individual  or  the 
race,  and  in  its  religious  devotion  gives  the  superior  expression  to 
this  high  and  natural  desire  of  our  nature.  Spiritualism  supplies 
to  the  material  universe  the  other  side  and  half  of  itself,  and 
gives  us  the  true  form  and  condition  of  ourselves  and  the  world. 
To  use  a  figure,  Idolatry  was  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  its  pair  of 
especial  pets ;  Pantheism  was  the  flat  earth  and  the  tribes  and 
nations,  and  spiritualism  is  the  globe  and  its  races,  with  distinct 
and  numerous  origins.  Spiritualism  supplies  to  the  universe  the 
real,  substantial,  and  material  condition  of  mind,  and  its  action  on, 
and,  in  the  negative  substance,  called,  for  convenience'  sake,  mat- 
ter, and  exhibits  forms  aggregating,  sublimating,  and  segregating, 
continually  and  eternally,  without  diminution  or  increase  of  either 
mind  or  matter,  and  forever  producing  in  this  contact  and  action 
motion,  life,  sensation,  intelligence,  and  development;  and  thus  a 
new  phase  of  devotion  is  presented,  another  side  to  man  individu- 
ally and  collectively,  and  to  all  tangible  existence  a  positive  is 


LIFE-LINE   OP  THE  LONE   ONE.  305 

supplied  to  its  negative,  and  the  harmony  of  the  universe  is  at 
last  discovered.  Spiritualism  admits  all  the  principles  and  demon- 
strations of  Pantheism,  and  supplies  to  it  what  it  always  lacked 
and  felt  the  need  of,  —  an  active  and  motive  power,  with  intelli- 
gence to  account  for  intelligence  in  objects  ;  for  Pantheism  could 
never  show  how  intelligence  could  come  from  a  source  entirely 
devoid  of  it ;  and  while  it  could  easily  show  the  fallacy  and  de- 
fects in  Idolatry,  it  often  became  entangled  in  its  own  reasonings, 
and  found  a  web  of  its  own  construction  holding  it  in  meshes  too 
strong  for  its  power. 

The  Spiritual  or  Harmonial  philosophy  did  not  supply  a  per- 
sonal God  to  worship,  but  it  did  supply  Divine  Mind  to  the  Infi- 
nite universe,  and  it  was  like  letting  in  the  sunlight  upon  the  dark- 
ened earth.  It  also  found  and  established  the  existence  of  a 
human  mind  to  each  human  form,  and  of  course,  according  to 
fixed  principles  of  philosophy  and  Pantheism,  proved  it  could 
never  be  annihilated,  or  cease  to  exist.  It  also  found  why  and 
how  the  exhibitions  of  intelligence  could  legitimately  find  expres- 
sion in  the  universe  and  in  man.  Spiritualism  carried  the  devo- 
tion of  those  who  had  reached  it  to  Divine  Mind,  and  found  God, 
or  mind,  everywhere,  in  every  form  of  which  the  senses  or  the 
reason  could  take  cognizance,  forever  revealing  law  and  order,  facts 
and  truths,  to  each,  and  through  each,  individual  form.  It  had 
no  difficulty  in  proving  immortality  for  man,  for  it  found  in  him 
a  mind,  and  a  unit,  or  entity,  and  forever  indissoluble ;  and  while 
he  acted  on,  and  in,  a  negative  form  of  matter  as  a  body,  —  an 
aggregation  only  temporarily,  —  he  had  in  himself  eternal  duration, 
and  might  safely  say  he  was  possessed  of  all  power  in  heaven  and 
in  earth  ;  for  he  was  positive  to  all  conditions  of  matter  below 
himself,  and  could  use  each  form  and  leave  it  without  being  him- 
self lost  or  destroyed  by  the  separation  of  the  parts  which  com- 
posed his  body  ;  and,  deprived  of  one  form,  he  could  aggregate 
and  organize  another  of  similar  or  dissimilar  matter,  and  again 
enjoy  for  a  season,  in  it,  a  sunshine  of  existence,  as  Divine  Mind 
does  in  worlds. 

26* 


306  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE  LONE   ONE. 

The  true  infinity  was  now  introduced  to  the  mind  and  compre- 
hension of  man  by  spiritualism,  or,  what  would  be  more  proper, 
if  an  ism  must  be  used,  mentalism.  Many  persons  call  themselves 
spiritualists  who  are  only  Idolaters,  and  some  who  are  Panthe- 
ists ;  but  the  true  Harmonial  man,  or  real  spiritualist,  has  out- 
grown all  these  child-clothes,  and  has  no  Idol  in  book  or  image, 
but  has  God  or  Mind  in  everything  and  everywhere,  and  ever 
worships  the  Infinite  and  the  everywhere-God,  —  not  the  throne- 
God,  or  the  God  of  Moses  and  the  Jews,  nor  the  Jesus  of  the 
Christians,  nor  the  earth,  or  earths,  of  the  Pantheist,  — but  his  God 
is,  and  was,  and  will  be,  when  all  these  forms  change  or  dissolve 
and  reunite  in  other  forms.  The  never-changing  mind  of  the 
Universe,  ever  changing  matter  and  acting  on  it  in  forms,  becomes 
God,  and  draws  out  the  devotion  of  the  true  spiritualist,  and  it 
can  be  expressed  anywhere,  and  any  time ;  for  Divine  Mind  is 
really  omnipresent  and  omnipervading.  No  century-rule  used  to 
measure  time  can  determine  the  age,  nor  any  league-rule  find  and 
determine  the  diameter.  I  use  the  masculine  sometimes,  because 
mind  is  masculine  or  positive,  and  not  because  Idolaters  usually 
have  a  man-God,  or  God-man,  to  worship.  Mind  is  always  mas- 
culine, matter  always  feminine,  and  cohesion  is  the  sexual  expres- 
sion of  a  certain  condition  and  combination  of  mind  and  matter. 
So  is  life,  and  sensation,  and  intelligence,  each  in  its  respective 
plane ;  but  of  these  I  shall  speak  more  properly  in  another  lec- 
ture. 

I  have  now  laid  out  these  three  phases,  and  every  human  being 
is  paying  his  or  her  devotion  in  one  of  the  three  ;  and  each  may 
register  and  station,  or  examine  and  report  himself  or  herself,  where 
and  as,  he  or  she  pleases,  at  leisure.  All  are  on  the  line,  and  all 
have  devotion,  and  all  do  express  it.  All  persons  do  pray,  for  prayer 
is  only  wish,  or  desire,  and  no  person  can  exist  without  it,  nor  can 
any  person  express  devotionally  this  prayer  to  a  thing,  or  power, 
or  existence,  which  he  or  she  believes  to  be  inferior  or  only  equal 
to  self.  The  answer  or  response  to  prayer  may  be  expected 
through  or  from  an  equal,  or  even  inferior;  but  some  power  ia 


LIFE-LINE   OF   THE   LONE    ONE.  307 

recognized  as  superior,  and  acting  on  and  through  the  instrument. 
Fear  is  the  peculiar  attribute  of  Idolatry.  It  ceases  in  Pantheism, 
and  in  independence  and  manhood.  Try,  and  do,  reason  and  learn, 
are  the  peculiar  attributes  of  Pantheism.  Love,  deep,  sincere,  fear- 
less, ardent,  and  overflowing,  is  the  peculiar  attribute  of  the  spirit- 
ual religion.  All  fear  ceases  in  the  mind  of  the  true  spiritualist. 
Death,  hell,  and  the  grave,  lose  all  their  terrors,  and  man  has  only 
love  in  the  place  of  fear,  and  looks  to  each  change  which  nature 
provides  and  presents  to  him  as  a  step  leading  higher,  and  to  a  still 
better  condition  for  enjoyment.  He  fears  no  terrors  of  the  law, 
and  expects  no  particular  day  of  judgment ;  but  every  day  is  his 
day  of  judgment.  He  has.no  tyrant,  with  iron  rod  and  shining 
crown  of  diamonds,  to  appease  ;  but  an  ever-present  mind,  smil- 
ing through  immutable  laws,  which  are  ever  working  out  happiness 
for  each  being  who  is  in  harmony  with  them.  He  depends  on  con- 
dition for  happiness,  not  on  belief  or  faith,  and  ever  tries  to  put 
himself  in  true  relations  with  the  laws  of  nature  and  God.  To 
the  Idolater  the  spiritualist  is  like  the  Pantheist,  Infidel,  because 
he  has  no  personal  God ;  and  is  to  such  person  what  the  Christian 
with  his  spirit-God,  or  Holy  Ghost,  is  to  the  Pagan  with  his  visi- 
ble Idol  —  the  latter  cannot  see  or  touch  the  Christian's  God,  and 
hence  concludes  he  has  none.  So  the  Christian  cannot  compre- 
hend or  mentally  recognize,  measure,  and  surround,  the  Infinite 
Divine  Mind,  and  hence  concludes  spiritualists  have  no  God,  and 
little  or  no  devotion  ;  but  manhood  will  dissipate  these  toy-Gods, 
for  the  individual  and  the  race,  and  spiritualism  will  introduce 
God  to  the  Pantheist.  Every  person  with  a  body  weighing  two 
hundred  pounds,  and  measuring  six  feet  in  length,  is  not  a  man  or 
woman ;  for  many  such  are  only  children,  even  after  they  have 
been  to  college,  and  come  out  with  a  parchment  and  honors  ;  and 
indeed  these  colleges  are,  to  use  again  a  figure,  places  where  a 
band  of  unyielding  metal  is  often  put  around  the  head  to  hold 
from  expansion  the  intellect,  and  expand  the  perceptions  in  dig- 
ging roots  of  Greek  and  Latin  ;  or  to  send  up,  like  a  sugar-loaf, 
the  veneration  in  Idolatrous  devotion,  instead  of  cultivating,  in  a 


308  LIFE-LINE    OF   THE   LONE    ONE. 

natural  way,  the  true  growth  of  brain,  and  thus  the  real  and  true 
religion  of  manhood.  Spiritualism  must  and  will  renovate  and 
change  entirely  our  system  of  education,  and  bring  our  colleges 
up  to,  and  into,  the  teaching  of  the  religion  of  manhood,  or  spirit- 
ualism. Every  person  is  an  Idolater,  a  Pantheist,  or  Spiritualist. 
Reader,  which  art  thou  ?  If  either  of  the  two  first,  there  is  work 
before  thee,  and  the  tools  are  ready  at  thy  hand,  and  thy  power  is 
ample  to  use  them  ;  and  in  thy  lower  plane  of  devotion  thou  canst 
not  know  the  beauty  and  joy  of  the  higher  and  more  unfolded  life 
and  religion  of  the  third  phase  until  thou  hast  tasted  it.  Learn, 
grow,  develop,  unfold  thy  powers  and  faculties,  and  become  a 
spiritualist  in  its  true  and  real  sense,  and  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  the  Harmonial  Philosophy ! 


AN    ANGEL'S    VISIT. 

BY  HATTIE. 

AN  Angel  came  to  me,  one  night, 

In  glorious  beauty  clothed, 
And  with  sweet  words  of  hope  and  joy 

My  way-worn  spirit  soothed. 

He  fanned  my  cheek  and  burning  brow. 
And  cooled  my  fevered  brain, 

And  with  his  own  deep  music-voice 
Sang  many  a  loving  strain. 

He  bade  me  ask  for  any  gift 

Within  his  power  to  give  : 
For  death's  cold  arms  to  bear  me  hence. 

Or  countless  years  to  live  ; 

For  riches,  honors,  and  domains, 
A  sceptre,  crown,  and  throne  ; 

For  friends  with  loving  hearts  to  twine 
Around  my  happy  home. 

"  Not  these,  dear  Angel  bright,"  I  cried 
"  From  each  and  all  I  '11  part, 

If  thou  'It  bestow  that  richer  gift, 
A  pure  and  spotless  heart. ' ' 

The  Angel  smiled  (with  such  a  smile 

As  only  angels  have) ; 
Then,  sighing  low,  a  diamond  glass 

Into  my  hand  he  gave. 

"0,  mine  is  not  the  power,"  he  said, 
"  To  fit  thy  heart  for  heaven  ; 

The  gift  to  purify  thy  soul 
Unto  thyself  is  given. 


310  LIFE-LINE   OF  THE   LONE   ONE. 

"  But  look  within  the  faithful  glass 

That  I  have  given  thee, 
And  there  within  thy  outer  self 

Thy  inner  self  thou  'It  see." 

I  looked  —  'twas  strange,  but  there  I  saw 
Two  beings  joined  in  one  ; 

For  clearly  through  the  outer  shell 
A  radiant  spirit  shone. 

Long,  long  I  gazed,  and  years  on  years 
Seemed  there  to  pass  away, 

But  still  I  saw  that  spirit  bright 
Grow  brighter,  day  by  day. 

At  last  't  was  free  —  free  from  the  shell 
That  dimmed  its  brilliant  glow, 

And  upward  flew  on  angel-wings, 
And  left  the  shell  below 


•0F 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


MOT1S 


NOTIS  JUN 


0  4  1990 


"OTIS  OCT  08  1990 


BEIDRNED    JUN  19 1960 

RET'D  JUN  19 1990^4 

IK  JW  1 9 -8036 


Series  9482 


3  1205  00930  2496 


